LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Cljnji ©rtp^rig^l Tit 

Shelf 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



Castor and People; 



METHODISM IN THE EIELD. 




BY REV. J. H. POTTS. 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION, 

BY REV. J. M. REID, D.D. 



1 The field is the world." — Matt, xiii, 38, 
' The world is my parish." — Wesley. 




J o. J} I 

18m r\^J 

NEW YORK: 
PHILLIPS & HUNT. 

CINCINNATI : 
HITCHCOCK & WALDEN. 

1879. 



THE ClBRAKYj 
OF CONGRESS 1 



] WAS 

ft- f ■ 



WASHINOTOM] 



Copyright 1879, by 
PHILLIPS & HUNT, 
New York. 



"We are laborers together with God. — 1 Cor. iii, 9. 

ONE SOWETH, AND ANOTHER REAPETH. — John iv, 37. 

AND HE GAVE SOME, APOSTLES J AND SOME, PROPHETS J AND 
SOME, EVANGELISTS ; AND SOME, PASTORS AND TEACHERS J FOR THE 
PEREECTING OE THE SAINTS, FOR THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY, FOR 
THE EDIFYING OF THE BODY OF CHRIST. Eph. IV, 11, 12. 

Taxe heed therefore unto yourselves, and to ALL THE 

FLOCK, OVER THE WHICH THE HOLY GHOST HATH MADE YOU OVER- 
SEERS, TO FEED THE CHURCH OF GOD, WHICH HE HATH PURCHASED 
WITH HIS OWN BLOOD. — ActSXX, 28. 

I KEPT BACK NOTHING THAT WAS PROFITABLE UNTO YOU, BUT 
HAVE SHOWED YOU, AND HAVE TAUGHT YOU PUBLICLY, AND FROM 
HOUSE TO HOUSE. — Acts XX, 20. 

Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of 
three years i ceased not to warn every one night and day 

WITH TEARS. — Acts XX, 31. 

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wav- 
ering ; FOR HE IS FAITHFUL THAT PROMISED ; AND LET US CONSIDER 

one another to provoke unto love and to good works : not 
forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the man- 
ner of some is ; but exhorting one another and so much the 
more, as ye see the day approaching. — heb. x, 23-25. 

And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor 
among you, and are over you in the lord, and admonish 
you ; and to esteem them very highly in love for their 
work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves. — 1 Thess. 
v, 12. 

So HATH THE LORD ORDAINED THAT THEY WHICH PREACH THE 
GOSPEL SHOULD LIVE OF THE GOSPEL. — 1 Coi\ ix, 14. 

Therefore let no man glory in men : for all things are 
yours ; whether paul, or apollos, or cephas, or the world, 
or life, or death, or things present, or things to come ; all 

ARE YOURS; AND YE ARE CHRIST'S; AND CHRIST IS God's. — 1 Coi\ 

iii, 21-23. 



PREFACE. 



METHODISM has a vast literature, em- 
bracing history, theology, biography, 
homiletics, hymnology, and jurisprudence. 
But back of all these, and from which they 
sprang, is a living spirit, which, as embodied in 
the minds, hearts, characters, habits, and labors 
of the followers of Wesley, has in it the power 
and presage of tenfold greater issues. 

This spirit is none other than a revival of 
the pentecostal flame. Its partakers meet 
often one with another. They are found 
"with one accord in one place." The house 
where they assemble is filled with the heavenly 
influence. Their hearts burn within them, 
their countenances are aglow, and their lips are 
touched with hallowed fire. This spirit speaks 
in all languages, and calls " servants and hand- 
maidens M from k ' ; all flesh M to " prophesy." It 
proclaims full salvation ; and to those who cry, 
"Men and brethren, what shall we do?" it 



6 



Preface. 



replies, " Repent, believe, and receive the gift 
of the Holy Ghost/' It has " favor with all 
the people/' and by it " the Lord adds to the 
Church daily such as should be saved." These 
" continue in the apostles' doctrine and fellow- 
ship, in breaking of bread, and in prayers." 

Vital to the operation of this spirit in the 
system of Methodist connectionalism is the 
Pastoral Relation, the reciprocal obligations, 
and mutual services of which form the themes 
of contemplation in the following pages. 

Methodism is here presented as at work. 
The plans, precepts, and instrumentalities of 
the workers are brought into view. The points 
of Methodist faith are stated, the standard of 
Methodist character upheld, the business of 
Methodist life indicated, and the covenant 
vows formulated for easy recollection. And, 
without controversy, whatsoever things a pas- 
tor and people are expected to believe, prom- 
ise, do, or sustain, find herein at least a cursory 

mention. The AUTHOR. 

Editorial Rooms of ) 
Michigan Christian Advocate, >• 
Detroit, 1879. ) 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Introduction 9 

Chief Pastors — Bishops 11 

Inter-Pastors — Presiding- Elders 16 

Eegular Pastors — Preachers in Charge 19 

Sub-Pastors — Official Members 28 

Methodist People 32 

A First Class Pastor Wasted 42 

No Caxdidattxg 45 

Opening of the Coherence Year 47 

Support of Pastors 52 

Donations 55 

Bexeyolext Organizations « 59 

"Take the Collection" 64 

Sunday-School Union 65 

Tract Society 66 

Educational Fund 67 

Freedmex's Aid Society 67 

Board of Church Extension 71 

Missionary Society , . 72 

Permanent Fund 74 

Chartered Fuxd 75 

Fifth Collectiox 75 

Parsoxages and their Surroundings 76 

Do Preachers Work? 78 

Taking a Eest 82 

Obscure Toilers 83 

What mat Women Do ? 84 

Broadway Travelers; or, The World ln Wickedness. . . 98 

Moralists 106 

Calling to Eepentaxce 109 

Inviting Sinners 112 

Directing Seekers 114 

Testifying in Eevivals 116 



8 Contents. 

PAGE 

Experiencing Beligion 119 

Methodist and Christian Baptism 1-3 

Caring for Converts 133 

Established in Grace 135 

Doing Good 133 

Joying in God 139 

Personal Eeligion 142 

Perfecting Holiness 149 

Home Life 154 

Sunday-Schools 153 

Camp-meetings = 159 

Union Meetings I t? j2 

Class-Meetings 165 

Prayer-Meetings 167 

Social Meetings — a Want 168 

Quarterly Meetings 172 

Eegular Public Services 175 

Christian Burial Services 173 

Obsolete Customs 183 

Methodism and Civil Affairs 193 

The Pulpit and the Press 204 

Unwholesome Beading 208 

Methodists Should have Methodist Literature . . . : 211 

Patronizing Methodist Literary Institutions 215 

Instructing Children Eeligiously 219 

Excluding Members 223 

Change of Church Relation 225 

Methodist Loyalty 230 

Conferences of the Methodist Episcopal Church ... 233 

Annual Conference Week 236 

The Joys of Moving 239 

Moved by Authority of Law 243 

Unnecessary Pastoral Eemovals 247 

What the Church Needs 250 

The Critical Hour 254 

The Outlook 257 

After the Conflict 269 

Transferred 273 



INTKODUCTIOl^. 



CHUECH is not merely a harmony of so many separate, 



component parts, but it is " one body," and every one of 
us members in particular. It is more than a unity, it is a unit. 
Each member of it must perform his own peculiar functions, 
and permit all others to do the same, or the Church as a whole 
must fail more or less in its heaven-designed effectiveness. 

Its great Head ordained that this Church should have a form 
of government, an organization, but left the form of govern- 
ment to human selection. Once established, however, each par- 
ticular Church organization, within its own province, becomes 
God's order, and its officers and offices are to be held in corre- 
sponding reverence. To this end it becomes the duty of every 
member of a given Church to be fully informed of its nature, of 
the inter-dependence of its several parts, of the particular ef- 
fectiveness of the chosen system for the great purpose of 
all Church organization, namely, the elevation and salvation of 
our poor sinful race, of the rights and duties of its members 
and officers of every rank and condition, and of the methods by 
which the greatest possible results may be obtained from the 
chosen system. 

A manual treating, in a practical way, of the discipline and 
usages of the Methodist Episcopal Church, must be especially 
serviceable at such a time as this, when the energies of this 
Church are so largely expended in attempts to improve the sys- 
tem, and comparatively so little in efficiently working the system 
as it is. A poor system from which all the possibilities are ex- 
tracted is far better than a perfect one in prospect, which for 
the present, at least, is none at all. It is a sad mistake to sup- 
pose that health and vigor are to be secured or preserved by 
covering the body with blisters, bandages, and strengthening 
plasters, or by dosing with stimulants, tonics, and cathartics. 




10 



XXTRODUCTIOX, 



Unceasing treatment is more likely to sap the foundations of 
life than to supply life in new measure and foreefulness. 

What inconceivable results would be realized if all members 
of the Church could be induced to fill up the measure of obliga- 
tion to their pastors, and all pastors should be alike faithful to 
their people ! What a power Methodism would become if. in 
its army of class-leaders there were none but men of mighty 
faith, of purest love, of flaming zeal, and of tireless fidelity in 
their office ! "What a benediction would come to mankind if 
Methodism were but always true to itself in all its services, in 
Church, in conference, and in camp ; in pulpit and in press ; in 
doctrine and in discipline ; in a word, were practical Methodism 
the complete realization of its divinely- suggested theory. What 
still grander things we might hope for if this million and a half 
of Christians, rising sublimely out of themselves, should be- 
come seized with unconquerable resolve to give Christ to all the 
world and all the world to Christ. 

Methodism is simply earnestness organized for Christ, and what 
could stand before a holy consuming zeal, which contemplates 
a single all-comprehending object, and for its sake counts all 
things but as nothing, gladly making one grand holocaust of 
time, talents, influence, fortune, fame, health, and even life it- 
self to accomplish it. The instrumentalities of Methodism were 
born of this very spirit, and are wonderfully adapted to their 
purpose. To know them is to admire them, and to be penetrat- 
ed with enthusiasm and hope in respect to them. We invite a 
perusal of this tractate and a prayerful regard for its hints and 
suggestions. It can scarcely fail to be a blessing to the Church, 

^ J. M. Reid. 

Mission Rooms, M, E. Church. 
805 Broadway. X. Y.. May 19. 1879. 



METHODISM IN THE FIELD. 



CHIEF PASTORS— BISHOPS. 

|^ETHODISM was introduced into the British 
Colonies in America by the immigration of 
persons who had been brought into its connection 
through the labors of the Rev. John Wesley and 
his associates. On emigrating to America, they 
were for awhile as " sheep without a shepherd." 
In consequence of this, Mr. Wesley determined, 
in the year of grace 1769, to send over preachers 
to take charge of them, and appointed Richard 
Boardman and Joseph Pilmoor to this work. 
Some others followed, among whom was Francis 
Asbury. Preferring the episcopal mode of Church 
government to any other, in 1784 Mr. Wesley set 
apart to the office of Superintendent of the Ameri- 
can work Thomas Coke, LL.D., a presbyter of the 
Church of England ; " and having delivered to him 
letters of episcopal orders, commissioned and di- 
rected him to set apart Francis Asbury, then Gen- 
eral Assistant of the Methodist Society in Ameri- 



12 



Methodism in the Field. 



ca, for the same episcopal office; he, the said Fran- 
cis Asbury, being first ordained deacon and elder. 
In consequence of which the said Francis Asbury 
was solemnly set apart for the said episcopal office 
by prayer, and the imposition of the hands of the 
said Thomas Coke; other regularly ordained min- 
isters assisting in the sacred ceremony." 

These were the first bishops of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. Twenty-nine have been chosen 
since, "of whom the greater part have fallen 
asleep," honored to the last. It was in the Dis- 
cipline of 1787 that the title "superintendent" 
was first exchanged for that of bishop. 

Bishops are constituted by the election of the 
General Conference, and the laying on of the 
hands of three bishops, or at least of one bishop 
and two elders. Following is the form of admin- 
istering the consecration vow before induction to 
office: — 

The Bishop. Are you persuaded that you are 
truly called to this ministration, according to the 
will of our Lord Jesus Christ ? 

Answ. I am so persuaded. 

The Bishop. Are you persuaded that the Holy 
Scriptures contain sufficiently all doctrine required 
of necessity for eternal salvation, through faith in 
Jesus Christ ? And are you determined, out of 



Consecration of Bishops, 



13 



the same Holy Scriptures, to instruct the people 
committed to your charge, and to teach or main- 
tain nothing as required of necessity to eternal 
salvation but that which you shall be persuaded 
may be concluded and proved by the same ? 

Answ. I am so persuaded and determined, by 
God's grace. 

The Bishop. Will you then faithfully exercise 
yourself in the same Holy Scriptures, and call 
upon God by prayer for the true understanding 
of the same, so that you may be able by them to 
teach and exhort with wholesome doctrine, and 
to withstand and convince the gainsayers ? 

Answ. I will do so, by the help of God. 

The Bishop. Are you ready with faithful dili- 
gence to banish and drive away all erroneous and 
strange doctrines contrary to God's word, and 
both privately and openly to call upon and en- 
courage others to the same ? 

Answ. I am ready, the Lord being my helper. 

The Bishop. Will you deny all ungodliness and 
worldly lust, and live soberly, righteously, and 
godly, in this present world, that you may show 
yourself in all things an example of good works 
unto others, that the adversary may be ashamed, 
having nothing to say against you ? 

Answ. I will so do, the Lord being my helper. 



14 Methodism en the Field. 



The Bishop. TTill you maintain and set forward, 
as much as shall lie in you, quietness, love, and 
peace among all men: and such as shall be un- 
quiet, disobedient, and criminal, correct and pun- 
ish according to such authority as you have by 
God's word, and as shall be committed unto you? 

Answ. I will so do, by the help of God. 

The Bishop. Will you be faithful in ordaining, 
or laying hands upon and sending others, and in 
all the other duties of your office? 

Answ. I will so be, by the help of God. 

The Bishop. Will you show yourself gentle, 
and be merciful for Christ's sake, to poor and 
needy people, and to all strangers destitute of 
help ? 

Answ. I will so show myself, by God's help. 

Under the law of the Church bishops are in- 
vested with much authority; though their powers 
have been somewhat restricted, especially in that 
they are no longer judges in cases of appeal from 
preachers or people. They determine where the 
homes shall be of ten thousand men, " besides 
women and children.' 9 Once a year they say to 
each itinerant, " Go ! " and he goes. So general 
is acquiescence in the appointments of pastors to 
charges by the general superintendents, that one 
case of refusal stirs a zephyr of sensation all along 



Authority of Bishops. 15 

the lines. In 1878 the bishops reported at their 
semi-annual meeting that "not one of the ten 
thousand three hundred preachers stationed dur- 
ing the year then closing had declined to go to 
his appointment ; nor had any charge declined to 
receive the pastor sent by any of the bishops." 

Bishops form the districts of a conference ac- 
cording to their judgment. They are the presid- 
ing officers of the General Conference and of 
nearly one hundred Annual Conferences. They 
decide all questions of law therein, subject to ap- 
peal. They preside over judicial conferences, 
and are required, when present, to preside in dis- 
trict conferences. Between sessions of confer- 
ences they may change, receive, and suspend 
preachers according to the. Discipline, as necessity 
may require. They oversee all the temporal and 
spiritual interests of the Church. They ordain all 
our ministers, when elected to orders by the con- 
ferences, and consecrate their own associates ac- 
cording to the form of Discipline. They prescribe 
a course of study for all applying for admission in- 
to an Annual Conference, and a course of reading 
and study for all young preachers. They can 
unite two or more charges for quarterly confer- 
ence purposes. They can travel through the con- 
nection at large on plans made out by their own 



16 Methodism in the Field. 



body. They may hold their offices as long as they 
keep within the restrictions placed upon them by 
the General Conference. Other minor duties and 
privileges are also theirs. The bishops are, how- 
ever, held by the General Conference to a strict ac- 
count for the proper exercise of their great powers. 

These are exalted and sacred trusts. They call 
for the highest wisdom, purest character, and 
strongest powers. The mental, moral, and phys- 
ical strength of a bishop is taxed to the utmost. 
Besides the care of all the Churches and ministers, 
there are climatic changes and malarial poisons 
to which bishops, in their world-wide travels, are 
exposed, which frequently prove beyond the en- 
durance of the firmest constitutions. Bishops 
Kingsley, Thomson, and Clark were prostrated in 
rapid succession while young in the episcopal 
office. 

INTEE-PASTOES— PEESIDING ELDEES. 
To make the supervisory system as perfect as 
possible, the territory of each Annual Conference 
is divided into districts, each district composed 
of from thirty to sixty charges, to preside over 
which the bishop chooses as many persons from 
among the traveling elders as there are districts, 
assigning one to each district. There is no form 
of consecration for the presiding eldership, the 



Inter- Pastors— Presiding Elders, 



17 



position being merely a temporary appointment, 
not a life work. Like preachers in charge, pre 
siding elders receive annual appointments from 
the bishop, and go unceremoniously to their work. 
They are not allowed to preside over the same 
district for more than four years out of ten. 

The duties of presiding elders are, to travel 
through their respective districts ; to take charge 
of all elders, deacons, traveling and local preach- 
ers, and exhort ers therein; to change, receive, 
and suspend preachers during the intervals of 
conferences, and in the absence of the bishop, as 
the Discipline directs ; to preside, in case no 
bishop be present, in the district conferences; to 
arrange a plan of appointments for the local 
preachers and exhorters; to be present as far as 
practicable, and to hold, all the quarterly meet- 
ings, especially the first and fourth; to preside 
over quarterly conferences, and decide ques- 
tions of law therein, subject to appeal to the 
Annual Conference ; to inquire respecting the 
gifts, labors, and usefulness of each local preach- 
er and exhorter ; to hear and try complaints 
against local preachers; and if found guilty, to 
suspend, deprive of ministerial office, or expel 
such preachers; to license local preachers and ex- 
horters; to renew, annuallv, the licenses of such 
2 



18 Methodism m the Field. 



local preachers and extorters as require renewal; 
to recommend to the Annual Conference local 
preachers for elders' or deacons' orders, and for 
admission on trial in the traveling connection, 
according to the disciplinary requirements; to 
oversee the temporal and spiritual business of the 
Church; to promote by all possible means, chari- 
table and educational causes; to inquire particu- 
larly at each quarterly meeting whether the rules 
respecting the instruction of children are faith- 
fully observed, and to report at the Annual Con- 
ference the names of all traveling preachers who 
neglect to observe these rules ; to take care 
that every part of the Discipline be enforced ; 
to attend bishops when present in their dis- 
tricts ; and to give them by letter, when absent, 
all necessary information of the state of their 
district. 

It thus appears that presiding elders are super- 
intendents with limited jurisdiction. They stand 
midway between the bishops and preachers in 
charge. They may be called inter-pastors, be- 
cause they are under the chief pastors and over 
the regular pastors. 

It is customary for the bishop presiding at an 
Annual Conference to invite the presiding elders 
into consultation with him in arranging plans 



Regular Pastors — Preachers in Charge. 19 

of appointments. They thus become a forceful 
factor in the practical operation of the itiner- 
ant system. They are appropriately invited to a 
place in the " Cabinet," because, in the discharge 
of their duties, they have become possessed of in- 
formation which the bishop needs for his guid- 
ance, and which he could not otherwise obtain, 
and, in the matter of pastoral appointments, they 
are supposed to be disinterested parties. 

The work of the presiding eldership involves 
not only great care, but much sacrifice of home 
comforts, his duties calling him abroad most of 
the time. Nevertheless, no great effort has ever 
been necessary to find incumbents for the office. 

REGULAR PASTORS— PREACHERS IN CHARGE. 

The vast army of itinerant ministers are sta- 
tioned in nearly all quarters of the globe, and are 
engaged in many kinds of religious work. There 
are chaplains, agents, editors, secretaries, college 
presidents, professors and teachers, but the large 
majority are preachers in charge of stations, cir- 
cuits, or missions. 

Preachers in charge may be simply members on 
trial in the Annual Conference. In such cases they 
have given satisfactory token that they know 
God as a pardoning God; that they have his love 



20 



Methodism m the Field. 



abiding in them; that they are holy in conversa- 
tion; that they have gifts (as well as graces) for 
the work; that they have (in some degree) a clear, 
sonnd understanding, a right judgment in the 
things of God, a just conception of salvation by 
faith, a degree of utterance in speaking justly, 
readily, clearly; that their preaching is impressive, 
resulting in conviction and conversion in those 
who hear; that they have some literary acquire- 
ments, for instance, acquaintance with the com- 
mon branches of an English education, ancient 
history, Scripture history, American history, 
rhetoric, logic, and the Methodist Discipline. 

If the period of two years' probation in the reg- 
ular itinerant work confirm the above tokens, and 
the Annual Conference so elect, reception into full 
connection may follow. The following questions 
are propounded to candidates in open Conference, 
the bishop making appropriate comments and re- 
marks, and requiring satisfactory answers: — 

" Have you faith in Christ ? Are you going on 
to perfection ? Do you expect to be made per- 
fect in love in this life ? Are you groaning after it ? 
Are you resolved to devote yourselves wholly to 
God and his work ? Do you know the rules of 
Society ? Do you keep them ? Do you constantly 
attend the sacrament ? Have you read the Form 



Mules of a Preacher — Examination. 2 1 

of Discipline ? Are you willing to conform to it ? 
Have you considered the rules of a preacher ? 
Will you keep them for conscience' sake ? Are 
you determined to employ all your time in the 
work of God ? Will you endeavor not to speak 
too long or too loud? Will you diligently in- 
struct the children in every place ? Will you 
visit from house to house ? Will you recommend 
fasting or abstinence, both by precept and ex- 
ample ? Are you in debt ? " Any other ques- 
tions which may be thought necessary may be 
also asked. 

The rules of a preacher, to which reference is 
made in the above questions, embody the follow- 
ing points : Diligence, seriousness, prudence, slow- 
ness to believe evil of any one, speaking no evil 
of any one, administering godly counsel, avoiding 
all affectation, being ashamed of nothing but sin, 
punctuality, keeping our rules, using every means 
to save souls and to build up the Church in holi- 
ness, employing time as the Discipline directs, in 
preaching, visiting from house to house, reading, 
meditation, and prayer. 

When conference probationers are received 
into full membership, they are generally elected 
to the order of deacons, and ordained after the 
Sabbath morning sermon following their election. 



22 



Methodism m the Field. 



In answer to questions each candidate takes, sub- 
stantially, the following vow : — 

" I trust I am inwardly moved by the Holy 
Ghost to take upon me the office of the ministry 
in the Church of God, to serve God for the promot- 
ing of his glory and the edifying of his people. I do 
unfeignedly believe all the canonical Scriptures of 
the Old and New Testament, I will diligently 
read and expound the same unto the people whom 
I shall be appointed to serve. I will assist the 
elder in divine service; especially when he niinis- 
tereth the Holy Communion, I will help in the 
distribution thereof; I will read and expound 
the Holy Scriptures ; I will instruct the youth, 
and baptize; I will gladly and willingly search 
for the sick, poor, and impotent, that thev may 
be visited and relieved. I will apply all my dili- 
gence to frame and fashion my own life (and the 
lives of my family) according to the doctrine of 
Christ; and to make (both) myself (and them) as 
much as in me lieth, wholesome examples of the 
flock of Christ, I will reverently obey them to 
whom the charge and government over me is com- 
mitted, following with a glad mind and will their 
godly admonitions, All this will I do, the Lord 
being my helper." 

In entering the traveling ministry, preachers are 



Elders' Ordination Vow. 



23 



required to prosecute a conference course of study 
embracing a period of four years, with annual ex- 
aminations. At the end of this course, having 
exercised the office of deacon for two years, they 
are eligible to the office of elder. An elder is 
constituted by the election of a majority of the 
Annual Conference, and by the laying on of the 
hands of a bishop and some of the elders who are 
present. The ordination of elders generally fol- 
lows the Sabbath afternoon services. Following 
is substantially the ordination covenant : — 

"I do think in my heart that I am truly called, 
according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, to 
the order of an elder. \ am persuaded that the 
Holy Scriptures contain sufficiently all doctrine 
required of necessity for eternal salvation through 
faith in Jesus Christ. I am determined out of 
said Scriptures to instruct the people committed 
to my charge, and to teach nothing as required of 
necessity to eternal salvation but that which I 
shall be persuaded may be concluded and proved 
by the Scriptures. I will give faithful diligence 
always so to minister the doctrine and sacraments 
and discipline of Christ, as the Lord hath com- 
manded. I will be ready with all faithful dili- 
gence to banish and drive away all erroneous and 
strange doctrines contrary to God's word; and to 



24 Methodism in the Field. 

use both public and private monitions and exhor- 
tations, as well to the sick as to the whole within 
my charge, as need shall require and occasion shall 
be given. I will be diligent in prayers, and in 
reading of the Holy Scriptures, and in such stud- 
ies as help to the knowledge of the same, laying 
aside the study of the world and the flesh. I will 
be diligent to frame and fashion myself and my 
family according to the doctrine of Christ; and 
to make both myself and them as much as in us 
lieth, wholesome examples and patterns to the 
flock of Christ. I will maintain and set forward, 
as much as in me lieth, quietness, peace, and love, 
among all Christian peojxle, and especially among 
them that are or shall be committed to my charge. 
I will reverently obey my chief ministers, unto 
whom is committed the charge and government 
over me, following with a glad mind and will 
their godly admonitions, submitting myself to 
their godly judgments. All this will I do, by 
God's grace." 

The official duties of preachers in charge are 
defined very comprehensively and clearly in the 
Discipline. Upon them devolves the responsibil- 
ity of receiving, trying, and excluding members 
according to the disciplinary form. They are to 
give special attention to the instruction and train- 



Official Duties of Preachers, 



25 



ing of children, such as catechising them, organ- 
izing them into classes, and placing within their 
reach the facilities for missionary work; with the 
aid of the committee on Sunday-schools, to form 
Sunday-schools wherever ten persons can be col- 
lected for the purpose, to engage the co-operation 
of as many members as they can, and to visit the 
schools as often as practicable, deciding, with the 
superintendent and the committee on Sunday- 
schools, what books shall be used, and assisting in 
providing suitable teachers for classes. Preachers 
in charge shall account quarterly to their presiding 
elders and quarterly conferences concerning their 
pastoral and official work. They are to hold love- 
feasts, and report at them all changes which have 
occurred in the relation of members during the 
quarter. They are to renew the tickets for the 
admission of members into love-feasts quarterly. 
They are required to encourage the support of all 
benevolent enterprises, and to take collections for 
the same. They are to give certificates of mem- 
bership, and to notify pastors within the bounds of 
whose charges the removing members are to set- 
tle. They are to baptize all worthy candidates, 
and to bury the dead, making no charge for the 
same. They are to recommend every-where de- 
cency and cleanliness. (This rule will bear better 



26 Methodism in the Field. 



enforcement.) They are to furnish their succes- 
sors with all necessary information pertaining to 
the charges from which they retire, the report to 
include a list of subscribers to our periodicals, the 
number, time, and place of the appointments, 
names and residences of members, names and re- 
lations of official members, names of persons re- 
quiring special attention, as probationers, aged, 
afflicted, etc., names of disciplinary committees 
and officers of local Church societies, and all other 
matters which would help a new pastor in his 
work. Preachers in charge are also to make sta- 
tistical reports at conference. There are other 
duties pertaining to their office which cannot here 
be enumerated. The Discipline is full of matter 
touching the work of pastors. It cannot be stud- 
ied too carefully nor its regulations enforced too 
faithfully. 

The work of a preacher in charge is vital to the 
interests of the Church. It is directly practical, 
affecting the welfare of immortal souls. As is the 
religious life of pastors, so will be that of parish- 
ioners. According to their spirit and example 
will be the convictions of those to whom they 
minister. And much as their instructions are, 
will be the popular sentiment and practice. 

The first or primary duty of a preacher is to 



Pastoral Visitation. 



27 



preach. It is doubtful whether Methodist preach- 
ers in these days preach enough doctrinal sermons. 
As they give attention to theological questions 
they are supposed to " know the doctrine." Es- 
sential points of faith should especially he made 
plain. But the great object of preaching is to bring 
men to Christ. That is the best doctrine, the best 
style, the best argument, which results in the most 
conversions and the soundest Christian character. 

The other special function of the ministry is 
pastoral work. The flock of Christ must have a 
shepherd. Every faithful shepherd " calleth his 
own sheep by name, and leadeth them out " into 
richer experiences. Knowing the wants of each, 
from personal acquaintance, he adapts his public 
instructions to the necessities of his hearers, and 
thus becomes a more effective preacher. The two 
duties are therefore inseparable. 

Preachers in charge have a grand mission to 
accomplish. There are some disadvantages, but so 
there are in every responsible work. Let none 
shrink from the itinerancy because of its discour- 
agements. In ail that constitutes true worth, 
Methodist ministers may excel. Socially and spir- 
itually no class of persons are blessed with greater 
advantages. Superior opportunities for mental 
advancement can also be shown to be theirs, They 



28 Methodism in the Field. 



stand related to the most earnest and godly peo- 
ple on the face of the earth. With them they 
may toil and triumph. Expending strength to 
build them up, they may wear out at last and pass 
through temporal shadows in the evening of life, 

^ u ^> " "Tis not the Tvhole of life to live, 

Nor all of death to die." 

Push aside the veil separating the unseen, and 
there looms up a vision which may well allure 
every care-worn veteran of the cross. Paul caught 
a glimpse of it when he exclaimed, " To depart, 
and to be with Christ, is far better/' " They that 
turn many to righteousness [shall shine] as the 
stars for ever and ever." A Methodist preacher can 
make sure of every feature of the promised glory 
of heaven. 

SUB-PASTORS. OFFICIAL MEMBERS. 

Pew Churches have a greater number of depart- 
ment officials than the Methodist Episcopal. Every 
pastoral charge has from fifteen to thirty, unless 
the number is limited by giving to one individual 
several official relations. In an Annual Confer- 
ence there are ministers who have " worn out " in 
the regular work. Such are entitled to a superan- 
nuated relation, and a support from the " Fifth 
Collection" fund. So, also, there are those tern- 



Official Members, 



29 



porarily incapacitated for the performance of full 
effective work, and are entitled to a supernumerary 
relation, with only a conditional claim upon the 
beneficiary funds. Both of these classes have of- 
ficial standing and full religious privileges in the 
Churches where they may reside. 

Members of Annual Conferences sometimes 
locate, and district or quarterly conferences li- 
cense persons to preach. These classes make up 
the corps of local preachers. They are amenable 
to the district or quarterly conferences where they 
may reside for their Christian character and the 
faithful performance of ministerial duties. They 
must have their names recorded on the journals of 
said conferences and also enrolled on a class paper, 
and meet in class. Generally local preachers have 
some secular calling upon which they depend for 
support, and hence perform their pulpit work with- 
out remuneration. 

Xext in order are exhorters, or persons author- 
ized to hold religious meetings and call sinners to 
repentance. They are to attend all the sessions 
of the quarterly conference and do their religious 
work under the direction of the preacher in charge. 

Following these are the stewards, of whom there 
may not be less than three nor more than nine on 
a charge. They are nominated by the pastor and 



80 Methodism in the Field. 



confirmed by the quarterly conference, to which 
body they are accountable. It is their work to 
look after the needs of the preacher ; to receive 
and expend moneys according to the provisions 
of Discipline; to seek the needy and distressed in 
order to relieve and comfort them; to inform the 
preachers of any sick or disorderly persons; to tell 
the preachers what they think wrong in them; to 
give advice, if asked, in planning the circuit ; to 
give counsel in matters of arbitration ; to provide 
the elements for the Lord's Supper ; to write cir- 
cular letters to the societies to be more liberal if 
need be ; and to report to the quarterly meeting 
the state of the temporal concerns. The stew- 
ardship requires persons of solid piety, who both 
know and love the Methodist doctrine and disci- 
pline, and who are men of good natural and ac- 
quired business abilities. 

That it may the more easily be discerned wheth* 
er members of society are indeed working out 
their own salvation, each Society is divided into 
smaller companies, called classes, one person of 
each class being styled the leader. He is ap- 
pointed by the preacher in charge, and is the pas- 
tor's assistant, or sub-pastor. It is his duty to see 
each person in his class once a week at least, to 
inquire how their souls prosper ; to advise, re- 



Official Members, 



81 



prove, comfort, or exhort, as occasion may require ; 
to receive what they are willing to give toward 
the relief of the preachers, Church, and poor, and 
to pay over the same to the stewards ; to inform 
the minister of any that are sick, or of any that 
walk disorderly and will not be reproved, and to 
report to each quarterly meeting the condition of 
his class. Leaders should be men of sound judg- 
ment and truly devoted to God. 

Finally come the trustees, who are the legal rep- 
resentatives of the Societies, holding in trust for 
them all real and personal estate, and making an- 
nual reports of the number and value of churches 
and parsonages, title by which held, income, ex- 
penditures, debts and how contracted, insurance, 
and amount raised during the year for building 
or improvement, 

The Sunday-school is by the Discipline placed 
under the supervision of a Sunday-school Board 
made up of the preacher in charge, a committee 
appointed by the quarterly conference, the super- 
intendent of the school, and the other officers and 
teachers of the school. The first superintendent 
is also a member, when approved, of the quarterly 
conference. 

Thus it appears that the officiary of Methodism 
is made up of standard-bearers from every depart- 



32 Methodism in the Field. 



ment of the Church. The Discipline defines the 
duties of each with much precision. When all 
understand their relations and feel their responsi- 
bilities as they ought, every interest of the charge 
is cared for, and the entire work advanced. 

These local officers constitute indispensable ad- 
yisory boards to the regular ministry. They are 
the "settled pastorate" of Methodism, and live 
forever. The itinerancy finds in them an auxil- 
iary of great power and convenience. How gen- 
erally it is brought into requisition is indicated by 
the numerous "official meetings," "leaders' and 
stewards' meetings," and other special gatherings. 
Yet it is capable of greater service. In local 
preachers alone Methodism has an element of 
power sufficient to "turn the world upside down;" 
and in the stewardship, enough business tact and 
ability to turn it right side up. These dormant 
forces need better recognition and more effective 
utilization. 

METHODIST PEOPLE. 
Methodism has been the means of raising up a 
numerous people. In these wide-spreading United 
States they may be said to "occupy the land." 
There are but few cities or villages without a Meth- 
odist church or communities without a Methodist 
neighbor. 



Dignity of Church Membership. 33 



They are also a useful people. They serve a 
utilitarian purpose in the nation, in the state, in 
the school, in secular life. Were it possible to 
strike out the serviceable words, deeds, and influ- 
ence of all American Methodists, both living and 
dead, what omissions there would be from the 
pages of history ! what breaks in the ranks of 
toilers ! what leveling of educational and char- 
itable establishments ! what weakening of mil- 
itary and naval forces ! A deist ic judge of the 
Supreme Court in one of the Western States, used 
to say, "But for the Methodist Church and the 
Methodist ministry this country would have sunk 
into barbarism." TYnether the assertion be strict- 
ly true or not, it is, at all events, suggestive. 

Methodists are a good people ; not absolutely 
good, for in this sense "there is none good but 
one, that is God." They are relatively good. 
They are good to each other, to their pastors, and 
to their fellows around them. They will compare 
favorably with any class of people on earth. But 
Methodists may be better, more useful, and more 
numerous. Their piety may become more fervent, 
their labors more abundant, and their aggressive- 
ness more marked. "We believe that God's design 
in raising up the Methodist Episcopal Church in 

America was, to reform the continent and spread 
3 



34 Methodism in the Field. 



scriptural holiness over these lands." This is the 
declaration of the " Episcopal Address," and cer- 
tainly the doctrines, spirit, and polity of the 
Church are admirably adapted to such a mission. 
They show in their character the handiwork of 
God. 

It would be well for Methodists to understand 
themselves and their methods better ; to acquaint 
themselves more fully with their work, and the 
agencies for accomplishing it. They should " read, 
mark, learn, and inwardly digest " the principles 
of their faith and the rules for their conduct. 

This duty appears more clearly when it is re- 
membered that Church members sustain the most 
important relation in the world. Connections 
with the governments of earth are not comparable 
with it. Civil honors are for time alone. But 
the Church has the promise of absolute perma- 
nency. "The gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it." It is the favored institution of Je- 
hovah. "The Lord loveth the gates of Zion 
more than all the dwellings of Jacob." It is his 
chosen seat, his earthly residence. Its true mem- 
bers are his sons and daughters. They enjoy 
an unlimited and eternal heirship. The richest 
blessings of infinite love are subject to their faith- 
ful petitions. The ancient king offered to his 



Methodism and Logic, 



35 



queen the half of his kingdom. Jesus deals not 
thus with his bride, the Church. "All mine is 
thine." "Ask what ye will, and it shall be done 
unto you." 

" The sole return thy love requires, 
Is that we ask for more." 

The Church, then, is God's household. The ends 
of its fellowship are, the maintenance of sound 
doctrine, and of the ordinances of Christian wor- 
ship, and the exercise of that power of godly ad- 
monition and discipline which Christ has com- 
mitted to his Church for the promotion of holi- 
ness. Its duties are, to promote peace and unity; 
to bear one another's burdens; to prevent each 
other's stumbling; to seek the intimacy of friendly 
society among themselves; to continue steadfast 
in the faith and worship of the gospel; and to 
pray and sympathize with each other. 

A writer has said: "There is a distinction be- 
tween Methodism and all other forms of Chris- 
tianity. It believes in the Bible, in Christ, in 
the Holy Ghost, and a holy life, like all other 
evangelical Churches ; but it is distinct in its 
method. It is the method of inspiration in dis- 
tinction from logic. Logic reasons and then be- 
lieves ; Methodism believes and reasons. Logic 
reasons and feels ; Methodism feels and reasons. 



36 Methodism in the Field. 



Logic educates, ay aits for a call, and then preaches; 
Methodism preaches, being ' moved by the Holy 
Ghost,' and then studies, guided by logic. Logic 
' sings and prays with the understanding ;' Meth- 
odism ' with the spirit and the understanding also.' 
Logic proves things and then uses them ; Meth- 
odism strikes heavy blows, wins souls to Christ, 
and vindicates itself by what it has done. Logic 
looks upon the fields white unto the harvest and 
seeks out many inventions ; Methodism puts in 
the sickle and gathers the ripened grain. The 
inspirations of Methodism are of God. They are 
life-breathing, life-giving. They have walked 
right by armies of logic, staid, precise, and order- 
ly, and brought down rank after rank of stalwart 
rebels against God." 

As a divine instauration for the capture of the 
world by "moving upon the enemies' works," 
Methodism has never loaded itself down with un- 
necessary dogmatic munitions. Its creed is sim- 
ple and short. He who runs may read and under- 
stand. Moreover, any godly person may come 
under its provisions, and devote exclusive atten- 
tion to spiritual service, while those who have 
interest in doctrinal research, may find abundant 
material in the standard theological writings of 
the Church. 



Articles of Belt g ion. 



37 



Briefly summarized, the " Articles of Religion " 
embrace a belief in the doctrine of the Trinity ; 
the incarnation of Christ ; his suff erings, death, 
and resurrection, in making atonement for the sins 
of the world ; the co-equality of the Holy Ghost 
in substance, majesty, glory, and eternity, with 
the Father and Son ; the sufficiency of the Holy 
Scriptures as containing all things necessary to be 
believed as an article of faith, or to be thought 
requisite to salvation ; the harmony of the Old 
Testament with the Xew, and the perpetual ob- 
ligation of its moral precepts and commandments ; 
the corruption of the nature of man by original 
sin ; the necessity of divine grace working with 
the human will to produce saving faith, and works 
pleasing to God ; the justification of man by faith 
only ; the doing of good works as the fruit and 
proof of faith ; the impossibility of merit attach- 
ing to good works, inasmuch as it is the bounden 
duty of man to render all and every possible serv- 
ice ; the possibility of committing sin after jus- 
tification, and the pardon thereof by the grace of 
God on true repentance ; the constitution of the 
Church by the preaching of the pure word of 
God and faithful administration of the sacraments 
in a congregation of true believers ; the error and 
unscripturalness of the Romish doctrine of pur- 



88 Methodism in the Field. 

gatory, pardon, adoration of images or relics, and 
invocation of saints ; the repugnance to the word 
of God and the primitive custom of the Church to 
conduct religious services in an unknown tongue ; 
that baptism and the Lord's supper are the only 
sacraments ordained by Christ ; the nature of bap- 
tism as a mark of profession and a sign of regen- 
eration ; the retention in the Church of infant 
baptism ; the reception of the elements of the 
Lord's supper as only the tokens of the body and 
blood of Christ, and faith the means of spiritual 
benefit ; the right of all Christians to both parts 
of the Lord's supper ; the one oblation of Christ 
on the cross as the only and sufficient sacrifice 
for sin ; the right of ministers to marry at their 
godly discretion ; the privilege of diversity in 
Church rites and ceremonies within the limits of 
Scripture authority ; the deserved rebuke of those 
who willfully break the established order of the 
Church, thereby wounding a weak brother's con- 
science ; the duty of all Christians to be peaceable 
and orderly citizens of the governments under 
which they live ; the right of Christians to their 
own riches and possessions, and their duty to be 
charitable to the poor ; the non-prohibition to 
Christians of a civil oath required by a magistrate 
in the cause of faith and charity, and according 



Probationers. 



89 



to the prophet's teaching, in justice, judgment, 
and truth. 

As a condition of pure membership in a Church 
of general revivals and traveling pastors, some 
safe-guard at the door of entrance is absolutely 
necessary. Hence the Methodist system of pro- 
bation, the fundamental principle of which is, 
that the candidate, after trial, may proceed into 
full membership or not, without offense to the 
Church, and the Church may either admit or re- 
ject without injury to the candidate, otherwise it 
would be no trial at all. The period of proba- 
tion for Church membership " is at least six 
months." Probationers enjoy full religious priv- 
ileges during the time of their probation. They 
are not elected to official relations, however, and 
have no right to institute proceedings against a 
member of the Church. The advantage to the 
probationers is, an opportunity to form acquaint- 
ance with the doctrines, usages, and requirements 
of the Church before taking the obligations of 
Church membership ; the advantage to the Church 
is, an opportunity to determine whether the candi- 
date is a fit person to be fixedly " planted in the 
house of the Lord." TThen satisfactory assurances 
are mutually rendered, the reception may be 
" hearty, sincere, and deeply affectionate." Xo 



40 



Methodism m the Field. 



doubt this system, in thousand of cases, has pre- 
vented "improper persons from insinuating them- 
selves into the Church." 

When probationers have " run well " through 
the period of trial, and are about to consummate 
full connection with the Church, the examination 
as to the " correctness of their faith, and their 
willingness to observe and keep the rules," should 
be thorough and intelligent. A holy covenant 
obligation never loses its force. It is better not 
to vow, than, having vowed, not to pay. The fol- 
lowing familiar obligation of membership should 
be written indelibly on the heart of every Meth- 
odist : — 

" I here, in the presence of God and of this con- 
gregation, renew the solemn promise contained in 
the baptismal covenant, ratifying and confirming 
the same, and acknowledging myself bound faith- 
fully to observe and keep that covenant. I trust I 
have saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I be- 
lieve in the doctrines of Holy Scripture as set 
forth in the Articles of Religion of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. I will cheerfully be governed 
by the rules of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
hold sacred the ordinances of God, and endeavor, 
as much as in me lies, to promote the welfare of 
my brethren and the advancement of the Re- 



General Hides. 



41 



deemer's kingdom. I will contribute of my 
earthly substance, according to my ability, to the 
support of the Gospel, and the various benevolent 
enterprises of the Church," 

"There is only one condition previously re- 
quired of those who desire admission into these 
Societies, 6 a desire to flee from the wrath to come, 
and to be saved from their sins.' But wherever 
this is really fixed in the soul, it will be shown by 
its fruits." To this end certain helpful advices 
are given in the Discipline under the head of 
" General Rules." These are both negative and 
positive. They require of members, 

First To do no harm : to avoid evil of every 
kind, such as profanity, sabbath-breaking, drunk- 
enness, dealing in spirituous liquors, or drinking 
them except in cases of extreme necessity; dealing 
in slaves; fighting, quarreling, brawling, brother 
going to law with brother, returning evil for evil 
or railing for railing ; much talk in trade ; avoiding 
customs' duties ; giving or taking unlawful inter- 
est; unprofitable or uncharitable conversation; evil 
speaking, particularly of magistrates and minis- 
ters; doing unto others as they would not others 
should do unto them ; dressing gaudily or extrava- 
gantly ; taking unhallowed diversions ; singing 
worthless songs or reading unprofitable books ; 



42 



Methodism in the Field. 



needlessly indulging self ; hoarding ; contracting 
embarrassing debts either by borrowing or buy- 
ing: ; saving: or doing; anv thino- known as not for 
the glory of God. 

Second. They are to be merciful : to do good in 
every possible way 3 such as feeding the hungry, 
clothing the naked, visiting the sick, helping the 
distressed, ministering to the suffering ; instruct- 
ing, reproving, or exhorting. all associates, in spir- 
itual things : and in business and trade preferring 
those of the household of faith, (or groaning so to 
be ;) being diligent and frugal, self-denying, cross- 
bearing, persevering, submissive, forbearing, long- 
suffering, and by every means within their power 
promoting the cause of personal and general 
piety. 

Th/rd. They are to attend upon ail the ordi- 
nances of God, such as public worship, the minis- 
try of the word, either read or expounded, the 
Lord's supper, family and private prayer, search- 
ing the Scriptures, and fasting or abstinence. 

A FIEST-CLASS PASTOE WANTED. 

" I will give you pastors according to my heart, which shaU 
feed you with knowledge and with understanding." 

It is commonly held that the best method of 
filling the pews is to see that the pulpit is prop- 



Call for Men. 



43 



erly filled. Churches act upon this principle, the 
greatest solicitude being felt when an incumbent 
is desired for the pastoral office. 

It is not strange that such anxiety should be 
manifested. In the larger cities and villages there 
is sufficient competition to cause apprehension if 
a new pastor is not fully up to the popular stand- 
ard. And even in rural districts, such is the de- 
sire for growth and interest in the Church that 
much uneasiness is observed concerning the in- 
coming pastor. 

It is true that a want of efficiency in the sa- 
cred desk largely detracts from many other 
elements of usefulness. A Church may have 
wealth, social qualities, intelligence, and a good 
measure of spiritual power, and yet without an 
efficient preacher in the pulpit make slow ad- 
vancement. 

The position is not taken that Churches cannot 
prosper without good ministerial talent, but sim- 
ply that as a rule, they do not. In the Methodist 
Episcopal Church too much dependence is placed 
upon the preacher in charge. In other Churches 
a society will hang together for months, apparent- 
ly suffering no retrogression, whereas a Methodist 
Church without a minister will go to pieces. An 
explanation is perhaps found in the fact that Meth- 



44 Methodism in the Field. 



odist societies have no experience under such cir- 
cumstances. The itinerant system fills every pas- 
toral vacancy on short notice. 

First-class ministers are eagerly sought. Men 
of learning, piety, energy, fidelity, originality, and 
affability are the " called " of the religious world. 
The itinerant economy has many such. It wants 
none others. " There never was such a call for 
men as now, and yet the ranks were never so full. 
What does it mean ? It means this, that a man 
whose heart is not big enough to take in all this 
world, is not big enough to be a Methodist preach- 
er at all." A dronish pastor, shut up to a few 
ideas and a few activities, following a large- 
hearted, large-witted, and wide-awake man of 
God, will suffer to be undone all that his prede- 
cessor did. 

But Churches often sit in premature judgment 
upon ministers appointed to serve them. It is 
unjust to pronounce a pastor incompetent until 
every excuse for failure is removed. Few preach- 
ers fail in accomplishing something when heartily 
supported by the people. How frequently are 
those who appear to have but limited qualifica- 
tions, eminently successful in building up the 
Church ! It is " not by might, nor by power, 
but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." 



No Candidating. 



45 



11 The proud he taniecL the penitent he cheered, 
Xor to rebuke the rich offender feared. 
His preaching much, but more his practice, wrought, 
A living sermon of the truths he taught." 

NO CAXDEDATIXG. 

Whatever disadvantages may pertain to the 
itinerant system, they are not those of unsettled 
pastors, unserved societies, trial sermons, candi- 
dates of unknown character, and hesitating com- 
mittees. Methodist preachers often express thanks 
for being spared the embarrassment of candidat- 
ing. It does appear a bit like a " show w for a 
man called of God to preach, to stand up before 
a congregation of curious and critical spectators 
just to endeavor to please in pronunciation, in- 
tonation, expression, gesture, doctrine, profundity, 
and general delivery. How would Paul and Peter 
have got along with such exhibitions of themselves? 
Were they ever rejected, or requested to "re* 
sign," or left long: without " a call ? " 

A correspondent of a Church paper, who be- 
lieves in the settled pastorate, gives a graphic 
description of the matter in question. Here is a 
quotation : " The funny minister has his turn in 
candidating. His eye begins to twinkle as soon 
as he takes his seat on the sofa. He stops in 
reading the hymn and says something funny 



46 Methodism in the Field. 



about one of the verses. He makes a funny com- 
ment on the Scripture lesson, tells the Lord some- 
thing funny in his prayer, and caps the climax by 
the funny passages in his discourse. The pathetic 
minister also appears. Handkerchiefs go up to 
tearful eyes before he gets to the sermon. In his 
discourse he tells about the little boy that died 
because he vras so good, about the widow who 
had earth and heaven too, and winds up with the 
death-scene of a brave soldier. The off-hand 
minister is among the candidates. He acts as if 
he did not care a sixpence for the congregation. 
He casts his 6 notices' on the floor after he has 
read them, turns the leaves of the Bible as if he 
owed the book a grudge, rattles through his ser- 
mon without notes or manuscript, and sits down 
with the air of a man who has done the thing up 
'brown.' The sensational minister tries his hand 
at it. He comes with a flourish, walks the plat- 
form like a major, delivers his sermon in the most 
florid style, makes the most extraordinary state- 
ments, gives the most wonderful explanation of 
obscure passages of Scripture, takes the Church 
by storm, and throws the other candidates entirely 
in the shade." 

TThile the economy of Methodism relieves from 
such embarrassments, there is also much open 



Opening of the Conference Year. 



47 



conference with both Churches and ministers in 
regard to appointments. Absolute secrecy in the 
workings of the appointing power is no longer 
known or sought. Indeed, notices of prospective 
appointments of certain preachers to certain 
Churches are not unfrequent in the Methodist 
press. It is supposable that when the wishes of 
both pastors and people are known to the bishop, 
he has pleasure in complying with them as far as 
he may be able. But when two or more pastors 
want one specified charge, or two or more charges 
want the same pastor, episcopal prerogative has 
to be exercised, and sometimes that " hurts." And 
it is difficult to see how any system, in such in- 
stances, could spare the feelings of all parties. 

OPENING OF THE CONFEEENCE YEAE. 

It should be remembered- that pastors are the 
" new comers," not the people. The latter are all 
at home. Conference does not send them adrift. 
With here and there an exception, the pews pre- 
sent the same old faces from year to year. They 
are known to each other without study. They 
have but one strange face to look upon, and that 
not in the pews. Jsot so is the new pastor situ- 
ated. Wherever he turns his eyes he meets the 
gaze of studying auditors. He sees hundreds of 



48 Methodism es t the Field. 



strange faces, and perhaps his heart goes back to 
the familiar countenances he has been compelled 
to leave. 

Every new pastor should be made to feel at 
home. An indifferent reception may be remem- 
bered long. His usefulness for the whole year 
may thus be unfavorably affected. The first im- 
pression he makes ought not in equity to influ- 
ence the character of the greeting extended to 
him. The people will soon exact attention from 
him — let them not fail to bestow it now. Thought- 
lessness is too often apparent. A pastor was once 
greeted the first evening of his arrival by hun- 
dreds congregated at the parsonage, who unboxed 
his dishes, spread out their edibles, partook greed- 
ily, and went away late, leaving a littered floor, 
unwashed dishes, and not a cent of money or a 
morsel of unbroken food. Such a reception is no 
help to any minister. It is disheartening and 
disgusting. 

The beginning of the year is a good time to in- 
augurate a plan of systematic payment for the 
support of the Church. Many charges need re- 
forming in this particular. They leave their 
financial obligations to take care of themselves 
until the year is closing, when they make a des- 
perate, and often a despairing, effort to clear 



Iftnanciai System Required. 



49 



themselves. Inevitable prostration is the result. 
Look out for sour saints and stubborn sinners un- 
der such circumstances. Xo Church in Christen- 
dom ought to allow its finances to go at loose ends 
until necessity drives to action. 

It is a good plan to call a public meeting im- 
mediately on the arrival of a new pastor. The 
claims for the year could all be presented and de- 
fined. If a plan has been previously matured by 
the stewards, it should come emphatically in- 
dorsed by the entire officiary. If a call is made 
for voluntary subscriptions it should be promptly 
responded to by the ablest members to the full 
extent of their ability. In building a pyramid 
the foundation must be laid broad and deep, else 
the superstructure cannot be massive. A money 
pyramid requires that the larger contributions first 
give it solidity and character: 

Few Church members can meet all claims when 
presented, without a thorough system. Many rind 
their obligations pressing them hard. One reason 
is, because they do not meet them regularly. It 
is easier for a person in ordinary circumstances 
to pay one dollar per week for a whole year, than 
to pay forty dollars at one time. Small pay- 
ments are readily made and soon forgotten, but 

the memorv of heavy payments is lasting. 
4 



50 



Methodism ix the Field. 



Many take wrong views of systematic giving. 
They think as they lay by a few cents a week that 
so small an amount can be of no use to the minis- 
ter, and so they wait until they get more. Per- 
haps they are ashamed to pay so small a sum. So 
the unfortunate minister is required to wait until 
a large amount accumulates, if it ever does. They 
forget that small contributions from many people 
constitute a large aggregate. Fifty cents a week 
from each of two hundred members make one 
hundred dollars, enough to satisfy all demands of 
an ordinary Church. 

The conference year should be commenced with 
earnest prayer for spiritual prosperity. Any good 
minister can lead souls to Christ when supported 
by a faithful people. All prayer should be sec- 
onded by zealous work. God will answer only 
such prayers as man cannot. Any others mock 
him to his face. He has instituted the pastoral 
relation that the ministry and laity may supple- 
merit each other's efforts, and unitedly compel 
success. If the hands of either party are undis- 
ciplined, or weak through age, the abilities of the 
other must be used still more, and glorious tri- 
umphs thus won in the salvation of souls. 

The fields are white unto the harvest. There 
are many people on every charge who are not far 



Harmonious Co-operation. 



51 



from the kingdom of God. For years they have 
stood with one foot upon the threshold of mercy's 
door, almost persuaded to enter in. This attitude 
has become habitual with them, and they need 
only something to assist them in breaking it. A 
stirring invitation from a new pastor, or earnest 
appeals from rallying laymen, may incline them 
to yield themselves unto God. Some of the most 
sweeping revivals are inaugurated in this way. 
And here it maybe said that the "week of prayer" 
may become too formal an occasion for opening 
revival meetings. Sinners, anticipating the "an- 
nual effort," confirm themselves in the hilarious 
spirit of the social season. Thus they become 
fortified against the influences of extra services. 
Better to take them by surprise. Flank move- 
ments are often essential to victory. Storm the 
citadel of the heart ere the defenses are raised. 

The opening of the conference year is the time 
for the combination of all forces and the utiliza- 
tion of all means for general success. There is 
too much waiting one for another. That vague 
pronoun "they" is too often used. Change it 
to " we," and move forward in harmonious and 
energetic co-operation. 



52 



Methodism in the Field. 



SUPPORT OF PASTORS. 

The salaries of bishops are estimated by the 
Book Committee, who divide the amount necessary 
to be raised among the Annual Conferences ac- 
cording to their several ability ; and the Annual 
Conferences apportion the same to the several 
districts ; and the district stewards to the several 
charges. 

The salaries of presiding elders are estimated 
by the district stewards, and the amount, includ- 
ing house rent and traveling expenses, is appor- 
tioned to the several charges according to their 
several ability as determined by their respective 
representatives. 

The salaries of preachers in charge are estimated 
by a committee appointed for that purpose at the 
fourth quarterly conference of each year, which 
estimate is subject to the action of the quarterly 
conference. To this estimate is to be added the 
amounts apportioned to the charge for the sup- 
port of the bishops and presiding elder. The 
stewards are to provide to meet this total sum by 
such methods as they deem expedient. The mov- 
ing expenses of a pastor, being incurred in order 
to reach the people, are justly considered no part 
of the salary, but to be paid separately. 

The claims of bishops, presiding elders, and 



Support of Pastors. 



53 



pastors, are considered pro rata. Each is to share 
with the others in proportion to receipts, whether 
above or below the estimate. 

The disciplinary method for raising these claims 
is to determine, at the beginning of the year, the 
amount needed monthly, and to ascertain what 
each member of the Church and congregation pur- 
poses to give as his monthly contribution. The 
recording steward is the treasurer, and if he finds 
that the contributions do not equal the monthly 
claims, the stewards are "to apportion the defi- 
ciency among all such as are willing for Christ's 
sake to assume such deficiency, setting down to 
each person, with his consent, the additional 
amount which they think he ought monthly to 
pay." If members prefer to make weekly pay- 
ments through their class-leaders they have that 
privilege. 

Each Annual Conference has full liberty to 
adopt and recommend such plans and rules as to 
it may appear necessary the more effectually to 
raise supplies for the respective allowances. 

The stewards of each circuit or station are a 
standing committee to provide houses for preach- 
ers appointed to serve them, renting the same on 
charges where there are no parsonages. 

Years ago preachers' salaries were estimated 



54 Methodism ra the Field, 



with strict reference to the number and condition 
of the families. It is still so in theory, but prac- 
tically the estimates are based upon the supposed 
ability of the societies to pay. Some preachers may 
claim more because their families are large, but 
few expect less because their families are small. 

Though resort to legal processes to collect sal- 
aries is not allowable among Methodists, the 
claims are considered real, and the obligation 
binding, in the strictest moral sense. Any other 
view renders the whole proceeding a mere form, 
or even a farce. The moral tendency of the pay- 
what-you-please policy is deleterious in the ex- 
treme. Persons who accustom themselves to it 
frequently require the sight of a civil officer to 
discharge other debts. To avoid such contingen- 
cies, some pastors have adopted the plan of purely 
voluntary contributions, having no salaries esti- 
mated nor apportionments made. It is scarcely 
necessary to say that such assume either to be 
wiser than what is written in the Discipline, or 
else to make its provisions subordinate to their 
own notions. The plan sometimes operates with 
a rush for a single pastorate, but a reaction is al- 
most sure to follow. The design of law is to sub- 
serve the interests of all classes without respect 
of persons. The violator of law takes the chances 



Financial Obligations Morally Binding. 55 



of imperiling the well-being of his fellows by 
rendering the law's stipulations of none effect, 
" Every man for himself " is no part of the true 
Methodist spirit. Rather should the motto be, 
"Each for the others, and all for God." 

DONATIONS. 

A donation is a gift, but in the abstract it is a 
word of greater dignity, signifying the bestow- 
ment of a larger sum. In the terminology of 
Methodism it may have several meanings. Some- 
what humorously it has been called " pay-nation," 
denoting application of proceeds on pastor's sal- 
ary. The misnomer could have extension ; for 
instance, /h'^A-nation, referring to the social per- 
formances on some of these occasions ; or poor- 
nation, denoting results ; or sfo^-nation, signify- 
ing time when held ; or mixed-nation, applying to 
the character of gifts. Look at these thoughts 
further. A real donation is often pleasant and 
profitable. When an adequate support has been 
regularly provided, and the donation follows as a 
token of interest or affection, dull indeed is the 
heart of the recipient not cheered as a result. 
And as it is " more blessed to give than to receive," 
by reflex action, a donation may prove a blessing 
to the donors also. 



56 



Methodism in the Field. 



Gatherings for the purpose of making up the reg- 
ular salary should be announced as donations to the 
Society. It is a compromise of strict honesty to 
convey any other impression. The Church, at 
least, should set an example of legitimate adver- 
tising. There is no reason why a donation should 
not be held for the benefit of the people, instead 
of that of the pastor ; hence there is no justifying 
occasion for the misapplication of terms. 

The exercises of a donation should be in keep- 
ing with Christian character. It is all wrong to 
suppose that unseemly carousals are permissible 
because rough young men and wild maidens may 
have paid a few cents each. Such paltry ends do 
not justify unworthy means. 

In considering the financial results of donations, 
reference should be had to the ability of the peo- 
ple. One hundred dollars would be a large sum 
for some companies to pay, and a small one for 
others. But at every donation visit a few per- 
sons are sure to exhibit the poverty of their dis- 
positions rather than of their purses. These are 
sure to be the ones, too, who make the pastor feel 
uncomfortable by their manner of bestowing their 
contemptibly small gifts. They pay twenty-five 
cents as if it were one hundred dollars. 

There is no reason why donations should not be 



Character of Gifts, 



57 



held at timely seasons. The Fall, rather than the 
Spring, should be chosen. At that time the har- 
vests have been gathered and marketed, and the 
means of the people are more likely to be ample. 
Besides, the parsonage needs its stock of winter 
supplies as well as the farm-house or city mansion. 

The most perplexing feature of the donation 
custom is the character of the gifts. Money 
can never come amiss. It is a commodity 
which all may safely contribute. But supposing 
apples are a great crop one season, and conse- 
quently a drug on the market. Frequently barrel 
after barrel will be rolled into the preacher's cellar, 
when two bushels would supply his wants. It is 
too bad to charge such things on salary when they 
cannot be sold, even if the pastor had facilities 
and taste for marketing them. So pork may be 
a good thing in limited quantities, and chickens, 
turkeys, etc.; but what if twenty great fat hams, 
and fifty weighty fowls are bestowed at a single 
visit ? The pastor could start a meat market. 
Woolen mittens, buckwheat flour, dried apples, are 
sometimes brought in at donations in the spring 
time. It is plain to see that such things are given 
just to get rid of them and the obligation at the 
same time. Common sense ought to dictate that 
any gift, other than hard cash, should be some- 



58 



Methodism in the Field. 



thing needed and not readily obtained. A gold 
headed cane might fulfill the latter condition, 
when a cord of wood would better answer to the 
former, or even to both. 

Modified donations are of doubtful expediency. 
If a salary cannot be paid by a regular system of 
finance, a donation is a poor supplement. At any 
rate, pastors should be relieved from all embar- 
rassment arising from such gatherings, especially 
when the proceeds are not a gratuity. A little 
tact on the part of the stewards and managing 
committee would save many heartaches in parson- 
age homes. Better make no pretensions than to 
drag through the form of a half-hearted donation, 
carelessly allowing sundry small offenses to good 
taste, and closing up with disappointment, vexa- 
tion, and — no money. 

But there are pastors who appear to enjoy any 
sort of donations. They love to displace seedy 
old coats and slouched hats with garments that 
are " gifts." If the article is particularly desired 
they manage somehow to convey the hint. When 
obtained, the news is published far and wide, as 
if it were greater honor to be " presented " with a 
sadly needed article of clothing, than to be able 
to buy a house and lot. There are no reasons for 
misjudging the very few cases of this kind. So- 



Benevolent Organizations. 



59 



cieties know when they have provided a liberal 
support. It is presumable, when a clergyman's 
apparel is threadbare, that money is both needed 
and earned. 

BENEVOLENT ORGANIZATIONS. 
Standing closely related to the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, and, indeed, integral parts of her 
force and work, are various benevolent Societies 
and Boards. When men associate themselves to- 
gether for the accomplishment of a purpose, they 
find themselves possessed of a power which as in- 
dividuals they cannot have. Look at business 
corporations, such as railway and express com- 
panies, and great mercantile firms. Their doings 
affect the financial life of nations. Their prosper- 
ity promotes confidence ; their adversity spreads 
disaster. Look at organizations in the body pol- 
itic. Who can estimate the worth of government 
in giving influence and inspiring confidence both 
at home and abroad? What would the mere ex- 
istence of forty-five millions of people on this 
continent signify if destitute both of government 
and the power to organize government ? Verily, 
our congresses, our legislatures, our executive and 
judicial systems and functions, are what give us 
so high a place among the nations, and secure 



60 Methodism in the Field, 



protection to all our citizens. So in religious af- 
fairs. Organization creates influence. As in 
chemistry the union of certain substances gives a 
compound more powerful than the aggregate of 
all the elements when separate, so a society of ten 
men, properly organized for Christian work, has 
more prestige than many individuals toiling inde- 
pendently. Even two persons, walking together 
and agreed as touching any one thing, step with 
a firmer tread and awaken more interest wherever 
they go than many marching alone. Moody, with 
his lay sermons, and Sankey, with his songs, startled 
the world and set all Europe aglow with gospel 
light, when either alone might have labored in 
comparative obscurity. Our Lord understood 
this principle when he instituted the Church, giv- 
ing to some, "apostles; and some, prophets; and 
some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers." 
For this reason he put himself at the head, saying, 
"AlljDOwer is given unto me in heaven and in 
earth ; go ye therefore, and teach." Paul recog- 
nized this principle when he organized systems of 
charity in his Churches, and exhorted his people 
to systematic benevolence. Indeed, it was this 
idea of co-operation which caused Jesus early to 
send forth, two by two, apostles and others ; which 
example Paul and others followed when they went 



Power of Organization. 



61 



in small companies every-where, preaching the 
Gospel, encountering perils of every kind, yet 
winning souls to Christ, rescuing communities 
from paganism, founding Churches, training min- 
isters, and preparing every-where for a systematic, 
connectional, and world-wide extension of the 
Gospel of Christ. 

The understanding of this principle has led our 
fathers in the Gospel to organize benevolent so- 
cieties under various regulations, resulting in the 
Missionary Society in 1819, and others more re- 
cently, as the Sunday-school and Tract Societies, 
Board of Church Extension, Freedmen's Aid So- 
ciety, etc. 

The world of ungodly men dread organization in 
Christian effort. They know that men toiling 
singly — acting under no constituted authority and 
with no common end in view — will ultimately 
pass away, and nothing remain of their work save 
its influence upon immediate survivors ; but men 
toiling together, doing their work decently and 
in order, acting under written constitutions, may 
themselves fail without stopping the work. The 
organization will be perpetual, though its orig- 
inal founders have slumbered for centuries in the 
grave. 

Religious societies are valuable also in molding 



62 Methodism in the Field. 



public sentiment. Had all benevolent organiza- 
tions accomplished no more than to perpetuate 
themselves to this day, and yet promote the 
world's inquiry, command its respect, and enlist 
its sympathy, they would have been abundantly 
profitable. 

The benevolent agencies of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church have a connectional force, and form 
a bond of union among the widely-scattered con- 
ferences. They belong to no one section or party, 
but are the general institutions of the Church, mak- 
ing claims upon the liberality of the whole people. 

God has made human agency a factor in the 
world's evangelization. The race of man was re- 
deemed by a human, as well as a divine, Saviour. 
Men are to be saved by men, acting under God's 
direction and support. Human effort must be put 
forth, human influences wielded, human power 
exercised, and upon these only does God set his 
seal. As largely as possible, nations are to be 
saved by their own countrymen. Foreigners are 
simply to introduce the Gospel. Englishmen and 
others came as missionaries to America. They 
planted good seed. It sprang forth and has 
grown into a great tree. Thousands, yea mill- 
ions, take shelter under its branches. But the 
planters are in their graves, and foreigners are 



Human Instrumentality Essential. 63 

no longer needed. America must be redeemed 
through the agency of her own sons. So with 
China, India, Japan, and Africa. There are indi- 
cations that here, in the light of American intelli- 
gence and religious life, men are being raised up 
and trained to go to those foreign shores and set 
up the standard of the cross upon their native soil 
by the side of missionaries already there. The 
Chinamen are upon our coast, forming a vexing 
question which God will ultimately solve ; the 
Japanese are in our institutions of learning ; and 
the Africans have long been treading American 
soil ; but only recently under circumstances which 
may fit them in the coming time to penetrate the 
jungles of their own continent, and lead their fel- 
lows out from the darkness of heathen night. 

In the sustenance of our benevolent organiza- 
tions, responsibility is laid upon every soul. Min- 
isters and laymen, men and women, young and 
old, rich and poor, are sharers in this gigantic in- 
terest. If one is to preach, another is to pray. 
If one is to plead, another is to pay. If one is to 
go, others are to stay, and follow them as they go 
with hearty support. None are exempt from 
these obligations. God's claim is upon his people, 
and they must meet it. Iso belief or disbelief, no 
home duty, nor near charity, can excuse from pay- 



61 Methodism m the Field. 



rnent of the debt which souls, redeemed from sin 
and death, owe to God and his Christ in support 
of those heaven-born agencies which look toward 
the emancipation of a race of moral slaves. 

The great English orator, W. Morley Punshon, 
said : " TThen I think of the agencies which are 
ceaselessly at work to make this bad world better, 
I am thankful that I live.*' It is blessed to appre- 
ciate present advantages. It is more blessed to 
use them, to the extent of our power, around us 
and out beyond, in the salvation of our poor de- 
graded brethren. Somebody must apply power 
to the enginery. Somebody must feed the recep- 
tacles and keep the fire burning. Somebody must 
fill up the reservoir and the store-house. God has 
strewn all around humanity the materials for a glo- 
rious moral progress. It is for the field-hands, 
the firemen, the engineers, the pilots, the captains, 
each in their way, to use the abundant means at 
their disposal. Thus shall the Church go forward. 

••TAKE THE COLLECTION." 
The Methodist Episcopal Church is a " Church 
of collections." So it has been called, and a pe- 
rusal of her Discipline justifies the harmless cog- 
nomen. The chapter on the duties of preachers 
in charge, alone contains eight reminders of the 



Sunday- School Union, 



65 



various collections. It is to be feared that too 
many pastors rely upon this means of " encourag- 
ing the support" of charitable causes. More 
" judge it expedient " to look to the passing plate, 
under the influence of a special appeal, than to a 
calm, intelligent, comprehending, and vigorous 
effort in the form of regular subscriptions and 
systematic jDayments. Plate collections have a 
tendency to beget impulsive contributions. These 
may do in flush times, and under the influence of 
powerful pleas, but they are not as likely to edu- 
cate the Church in Bible principles of charity as 
some other methods which are alike disciplinary 
and available. But the law allows the choice, and 
of course liberties must be respected. 

Following the general custom, it is now pro- 
posed to "take the collections." This chapter 
must cover the period of an entire conference 
year, for no " omnibus collections " will be toler- 
ated. Each cause will be named by itself on the 
first Sabbath of one month, and its claim presented 
upon its own merits. On such occasions the Cus- 
tomary " penny collections " must give place. 

SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION; 
As children should have early attention, the 
first monthly sermon may be in the interests of 



66 



Methodism in the Field. 



the Sunday-school Union. Born of TVesleyan 
ideas, adopted of Asburyan sagacity, and trained 
of the spirit of the fathers, this youthful depart- 
ment of the Church "waxed strong," until in 1827 
it was made the subject of General Conference 
legislation, and of maturer action in 1840. In 
1845 there were reported 5,005 schools, 47,252 
officers and teachers, and 268,775 scholars. In 
1866 the Uniform Lesson System was devised, 
from which sprang the Berean System in 1870, 
with its manifold "helps" and limitless adapta- 
tions. In 1878 the "General Minutes" reported 
19,931 schools, 213,119 officers and teachers, and 
1,531,097 scholars. The "Sunday-School Journal" 
had a monthly circulation of 125,000 copies, and 
the lesser publications of literal millions. Thou- 
sands of conversions are reported every year, 
hundreds of new schools organized, and many 
library books of enduring value added to the cat- 
alogue. Such extended work constantly creates 
more urgent demand for funds, and proportionate 
expectation from the Church. 

TEACT SOCIETY. 

"It is recommended to our people every- where 
to form Tract Societies, auxiliary to the Tract So- 
ciety of the Methodist Episcopal Church." Com- 



Connectional Societies. 



67 



mittees also should be appointed for the work of 
local tract distribution. Pastors may devise plans 
to raise money for the purchase of tracts for home 
circulation. Let them "take the collection" and 
scatter Methodist tracts throughout society. 

EDUCATIONAL FUND. 

The cause of education must not be neglected, 
Divinity students and candidates for mission fields 
need pecuniary aid. Forty or fifty are at present 
being assisted, many of whom will be able to pay 
back every dollar they receive, which can again 
be used in helping others. It is the duty of every 
pastor to take a collection in each society in sup- 
port of the work of education. The Discipline, 
also, recommends that the second Sunday in June 
be observed as " Children's Day," and that " wher- 
ever practicable a collection be taken in the Sun- 
day-school, in aid of the Sunday-School Fund of 
the Board of Education." 

FKEEDMEN'S AID SOCIETY. 

When, in the darkest hour this country ever 
saw, Abraham Lincoln issued that immortal docu- 
ment which electrified the world and shook the 
shackles from American slaves, the impression 
generally prevailed that the negro's deliverance 



68 



Methodism m the Field. 



was complete. The rebellion was then crushed 
out, and the work of reconstruction commenced. 
As the years rolled by. public leaders saw that 
the task of emancipating the negro's mind was 
more gigantic than that of striking off his chains. 
Accordingly, they called for funds to be used in 
the work, and presented such views of the " great 
problem'' as never had been perceived before. 
Away off in the South (where the dark clouds 
generally gather) there loomed up the cloud of the 
negro population. On its top were one hundred 
thousand fleecy thunder heads, representing the 
aged negroes. Underneath was a line, one shade 
darker, in which were seen two hundred and fifty 
thousand negroes, whose locks were just beginning 
to silver. Lower still was the body of the cloud, 
black as the night of death, containing a million 
or more of human beings, strong enough, like the 
simoon of Arabia, if controlled by antagonistic 
forces, to sweep the continent and leave a desolate 
path behind. Then, at the base of the cloud, just 
where it seemed to touch the earth, was a some- 
what lighter stripe, representing the descending 
elements, and as the little black jets fell so thick 
and fast, it was apparent that the cloud would 
never grow less until, in some form or other, the 
whole land had felt its might. Hope and fear 



Freedmens Aid Society. 



69 



alternately seized the Northern mind, as from the 
cloud the lightnings of God's anger seemed to 
flash against the spirit of injustice long manifested 
toward an oppressed race. That injustice had 
begotten poverty, ignorance, superstition, debase- 
ment, and general incapacity. To utilize the bad 
elements of character in these free citizens, the 
politicians stood, with rotes in one hand and cop- 
per coins or loaded guns in the other, beckoning 
the colored voters to the polls. To grow " the 
cotton and the cane" at the least expense and 
greatest profit, planters stood with crumbs of 
"hoe-cake" and gay but cheap garments, point- 
ing to the broad acres awaiting cultivation, 
and naming the doom of the " nigger " who re- 
fused his toil. AYith an eye upon the civil power 
the Romanist was there, backed by authority and 
money, to bring the black*, strong arm of four 
million Americans under the control of a for- 
eigner — the Pope. The prospect was gloomy 
enough, until, in the muttering thunder, a voice 
appeared to say: "Educate the hosts that com- 
pose the cloud; give them instruction in the Prot- 
estant faith and the rights of free citizens; labor 
for their souls' salvation, and the land will be vis- 
iled with a refreshing shower." 

Like as the counsel was heeded, the cloud re- 



70 



Methodism in the Field. 



vealed here and there a brightening spot ; one at 
"New Orleans, one at Huntsville, one at Richmond, 
one at Baldwin, one at Marshall, one at Jackson- 
ville, one at Greensborough, and other points 
where educational institutions were established. 
Then there were lines of light, indicating the 
pathways of teachers and the tracks of patriotic 
missionaries. Soon a net-work of conferences ap- 
peared upon the face of the cloud, and there was 
a stir in the thick darkness itself. Flying hither 
and yonder, like a strong-winged angel, was the 
venerable Dr. Rust, followed by other men of God, 
planting churches, school-houses, newspapers, and 
charitable institutions, where poor black people 
might gather to learn to read and pray. 

Such a scene, like Sinai of old, was enough to 
make one " exceedingly fear and quake;" but just 
as ever the shudder came on, there rang in the 
ears of a dilatory Northern Church the familiar in- 
junction: " Take the collections/" and from $75,000 
to $85,000 passed annually into the hands of the 
workers. The cloud now is breaking into parts. 
A remnant has gone to Africa, their native shore; 
another to Kansas ; and others to various Northern 
States, Want and woe are yet the heritage of 
the despised Africans, and the obligations of the 
Church will never cease until, in their own sunny 



Board of Church Extension. 71 



climes, they can work, and worship, and advance 
in intelligence, with none to molest or make them 
afraid. "Let all our people contribute liberally 
each year for the support of our Freedmen's Aid 
Society." 

BOABD OF CHURCH EXTENSION. 

That was a happy action of the General Con- 
ference of 1864 which founded the Church Ex- 
tension Society, its object being to assist feeble 
Societies in the erection of churches. It has two 
general funds, one relying upon the general con- 
tributions of the people, which, so far, have 
amounted to nearly one million dollars : the 
other depending upon large gifts and bequests; 
the capital to be preserved intact, and loaned on 
good security to embarrassed Churches, and col- 
lected again when due. This "loan fund" has 
amounted already to more than one quarter of a 
million dollars. The accomplishments of the 
Board of Church Extension have been most grat- 
ifying to the Church. Its magnificent " Annual" 
indicates that two thousand churches have been 
built or rescued through its aid. Such work is 
both visible and tangible. It appeals most strong- 
ly to such as set up the plea, in matters of benev- 
olence, that they cannot see what becomes of their 



72 



Methodism us the Field. 



money. Let them look around, especially in the 
South and remote West, and numerous chapels, in 
which thousands of thankful hearts are attuned 
to praise, attest to the careful appropriations of 
the Church Extension Board. The loan fund is 
especially adapted to persons benevolently in- 
clined, who are dependent upon their means while 
living;. Thev can draw the annuitv through life, 
enjoying the assurance that their capital will now 
and forever contribute to the erection of churches. 
But the Board must depend upon the general 
fund for current appropriations. In support of 
this, the persons authorized should " solicit con- 
tributions." 

MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 
During the sixty years of its existence the Mis- 
sionary Society has received and disbursed more 
than thirteen and one-half millions of dollars. With 
this sum domestic missions have been sustained 
among the TTelsh, Germans, Chinese, Scandina- 
vians, North American Indians, and feeble English- 
speaking Societies ; and foreign missions estab- 
lished in Liberia, South America, China, India, 
J apan, Bulgaria, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Ger- 
many, Italy, and Mexico. In some of these 
countries long years of expensive labor preceded 
a single conversion, so great was the prejudice 



Missionary Society* 



73 



against the Christian religion. But after a period, 
interest was created, souls saved, and native 
helpers raised up. During late years the "open 
effectual doors " to heathen population have far 
exceeded, not the number of men willing to go, 
but the number which the funds of the Missionary 
Society would sustain. Since the close of the 
great Rebellion, when " times were flush," the 
receipts of the society have become smaller 
from year to year, and the committee on appro- 
priations, unable to retrench sufficiently to keep 
within the income without abandoning missions 
already undertaken, has labored under serious em- 
barrassments. Were all the rules and suffffes- 
tions of Discipline relating to missions faithfully 
heeded, the funds of the society would soon swell 
into a mighty tide, which, roiling into the treas- 
ury, would wipe out every outstanding obligation, 
lift existing missions up to higher efficiency, and 
extend out into other moral wastes, making the 
earth bloom and blossom as the rose. The or- 
ganization of all Sunday-schools into missionary 
societies, the enlistment of the practical sympa- 
thy and service of all missionary committees, 
wider diffusion of missionary intelligence through 
local Churches and congregations, regular and 
zealous observance of missionary prayer-meetings 



Methodism est the Field. 



in each society, with opportunities for voluntary 
offerings, the appointment of collectors suitably 
equipped with books, and instructions to call per- 
sonally on all the people, and giving " whole sab- 
baths " to missionary sermons and addresses, fol- 
lowed by confident appeals for contributions, 
would ere long make the gifts of our great Church 
a round million of dollars annually. 

Why not ? Rally, comrades ! Let the glitter 
of the flowing, consecrated coin be like the flash 
of a million "swords of the Spirit in the crisis of 
the conflict with the powers of darkness." 

PEKMANENT fund. 

Following the great public effort in behalf of 
missions, the claims of the "Permanent Fund" 
may be presented. The principal of this fund re- 
mains intact forever, and is invested by trustees on 
first-class securities. The annual interest is sub- 
ject to the "order of the General Conference for 
the following purposes : 1. To pay the expenses 
of the General Conference. 2. To pay the ex- 
penses of delegations appointed by the General 
Conference to corresponding bodies. 3. To make 
up any deficiencies in the salaries of the bishoj)s. 
4. To relieve the necessities of the superannuated 
and worn-out preachers, and of the widows and 



Chartered Mind. 



75 



orphans of those who have died in the work." 
It is the duty of all ministers to obtain, as far as 
practicable, contributions to this fund, by dona- 
tions, bequests, and otherwise. 

CHARTERED FUND. 
There is also another cause which, in its order, 
may follow the above. " To make further pro- 
vision for the distressed traveling preachers, for 
the families of traveling preachers, and for the 
superannuated preachers, and for the widows and 
orphans of preachers, there shall be a Chartered 
Fund, to be supported by the voluntary contri- 
butions of our friends, the interest of which shall 
be applied, under the direction of the General 
Conference," to the purposes above named. The 
last year, the eighty-nine Annual Conferences re- 
ceived about thirty dollars each from the above 
fund. It ought to be raised" to larger proportions. 

FIFTH COLLECTION. 
Perhaps the most sacred of all the collections is 
that in behalf of worn-out ministers and the fam- 
ilies of deceased ministers, The national Govern- 
ment pensions disabled soldiers and the families 
of soldiers who have fallen in the service. So 
ought the Church. But the provisions of the 
Discipline, looking to the endowment of perma- 



76 



Methodism in the Field. 



nent funds adequate for this purpose, have not as 
yet been so carried into effect that more than the 
merest pittance is received therefrom. Hence 
the "Fifth Collection" is a necessity; and even 
with this provision, the support of the classes 
above named is entirely too meager. Scarcely 
more than one-fourth of the amount estimated to 
be necessary to support these claimants is provided 
for. This dark prospect keeps many preachers 
in the effective work who otherwise would be re- 
tired, and stronger men put in their places. The 
neglect of this claim is therefore to the injury as 
well as the shame of the Church. Pastors who 
are careless in reference thereto, may see the day 
when they will look at it from another stand- 
point. "Every dog has his day." It is only a 
question of time whether those preachers now in 
the field shall be put out. " Take that collection" 

PAE SON AGES AND THEIE SUBKOUNDINGS. 

Some ministers are plant-setters and vine-dress- 
ers. The yards and gardens of their parsonage 
homes appear as if they considered them their 
permanent possessions. This class of the Lord's 
husbandmen are in the minority. 

Another class may be deemed of a preservative 
spirit. What they find really attractive, they 



Parsonages and their Surroundings. 



endeavor to keep so. But a third class seem 
never to be satisfied until they have allowed 
to be trampled down, or torn asunder, or rooted 
up, or utterly destroyed, every thing indicating 
taste and activity in their predecessors. 

Nor are ministers alone entitled to such a classi- 
fication. A variety of disposition equally marked 
may be found in the laity. Fine parsonages and 
church buildings on some charges, indifferent 
structures on others, and dilapidated old " shells " 
on others, serve respectively to indicate the 
spirit of church-going people. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church has '-'possessed 
the land" long enough to have parsonages and 
their surroundings in first-class order. Good 
houses, with at least heavy furniture, such as the 
Discipline contemplates in the rule relating there- 
to, should be found uniformly upon the charges 
of at least the older Conferences. Such shrub- 
bery, plants, and vines, as are desirable, ought 
not to be found wanting in the yards. 

Xo society is too young, and no pastor too old, 
to enter heartily upon the work of establishing 
attractive homes for ministers throughout the 
entire field of denominational labor. Home com- 
fort is much of life. Helping hands and contrib- 
uted dollars will go to the full extent of driving 



78 



Methodism es" the Field. 



desolation from parsonage property. A more ef- 
ficient ministry may be expected in the midst of 
home plenty and beauty. This matter is there- 
fore of some consequence to every religious per- 
son. Five thousand five hundred and fourteen 
parsonages were reported as belonging to the 
Methodist Episcopal Church at the close of 1878. 
Thus it appears that at least one half of the cir- 
cuits and stations have no parsonages at all. 

DO PKEACHEBS VTOEK? 
There is an impression that ministers have easy 
times. They are supposed to work only one day 
in seven, and then but two or three hours. It is 
not considered that sermons are the result of toil, 
not toil itself. The delivery of a sermon is a 
pleasure; the preparation of a sermon is work. 
The one occupies a Sabbath hour ; the other, 
many long busy hours between the Sabbaths. A 
solid, original sermon, thoroughly prepared for 
delivery, costs earnest attention, hard application, 
and extensive research. The germ of it may be 
suggested by a circumstance ; or, in some medi- 
tative hour, like a flash of light, it may spontane- 
ously enter the mind ; but its formation and finish 
are not the occupancy of a moment or the fruit of 
a passing thought. The successful preacher digs 



Do Preachers Work? 



79 



deep for truth, and the digging requires his best 
strength. 

It is all wrong to support a minister with the 
idea that ail he does to earn his bread is to preach 
two or three sermons on Sunday. The thousands 
of ministers in this country are not such Sabbath- 
breakers as to do all their work on the Lord's 
day. The Sabbath is to them, as to all other good 
people, a day of rest. The load which they cast 
off on Sabbath morning in preaching has been 
accumulating ail the week. The ordinary church- 
goer may not think of this. It is brain work that 
wears upon a man. Manual labor may weary the 
body, but mental toil wears both body and mind. 
He who toils with his hands and feet may have a 
fresh mind when his work is done : but he who 
strives with his memory, intellect, and judgment, 
may find his whole physical nature exhausted ere 
his task is half completed. 

Look at the work of an Asbury ! He traveled 
2 70,000 miles by rude conveyances over the mount- 
ains, through the forests and streams, and across 
the prairies ; preached 16,500 sermons, or an aver- 
age of one a day for 45 years ; presided at 224 
Annual Conferences ; and ordained more than 
4,000 preachers, Bishop Janes, during an episco- 
pal career of 32 years, vras incessant in his trav- 



80 



Methodism ra the Field. 



els and toils, rushing again and again across the 
American continent, and sometimes to the old 
world, preaching, exhorting, ordaining and ap- 
pointing ministers, dedicating churches and trans- 
acting the general business of the Church. Peter 
Cart wright preached 15,000 sermons, baptized 
12,000 persons, and received 10,000 into the 
Church. That " Western Pioneer,*' Rev. Alfred 
Brunson, D.D., as a pastor and presiding elder 
preached at least 10,000 sermons, built 40 churches, 
and led 6,000 souls into the kingdom of God. 
These fathers have laborious successors. As 
Bishop Ames used to say, "Pioneer sacrifices and 
activities were appreciated ; but if you want to see 
a man hard at work, look at him at midnight in his 
study, or up before day, poring over his books."' 

Some preachers maybe disposed to make a small 
stock of sermons serve as " capital " for a life-time, 
and thereby save themselves from constant, hard 
application. But the people know who these are. 
Xo kind of food is more palatable for rewarming. 
The " strong meat *' of the word, by which intel- 
ligent auditors grow, is never old enough to be 
stale. The preachers of this age are under obliga- 
tion to seek the highest culture. The masses of 
the people have a general knowledge of things. 
They appreciate new thought. Pastors should 



Culture Necessary in the Preacher. 81 



draw from the gospel treasury " things both new 
and old but when the latter predominate, unless 
the delivery is very superior, their sermons will not 
meet the popular demand. A bishop preaches in 
the same locality once in several years. He can 
make a few great sermons answer his purpose. 
A presiding elder preaches in the same pulpit only 
on his quarterly rounds. He can make a small 
stock of fresh sermons meet the demands of a 
quaclrennium. But a preacher in charge comes 
before his people several times a week, and he is 
expected to be a first-class preacher as well as an 
efficient pastor. Xothing short of earnest and 
diligent study among men, books, art, nature, and 
every thing else worth a good thought, will sup- 
ply such a demand. Almost any person can pre^ 
pare one sermon. Some can prepare a good one, 
or even a great one. A few* can prepare several 
of the best. But that individual who prepares 
enough acceptable sermons to carry him through 
a full term pastorate, finds something to do be- 
sides " holding down dry-goods boxes," or wear- 
ing out fine carriages. This is especially true if 
he expects to occupy responsible pulpits when the 
ardor of youth is past. 

Modern revivals are very taxing to a minister's 

strength. A siege of several weeks generally pre- 
6 



82 Methodism in the Field. 



cedes the victory, and great anxiety follows after. 
Under God, the work of reconstructing shattered 
moral edifices quite equals that of wearing out 
the procrastinations of sinners. 

TAKING A BEST. 

When summer comes, half of the pastors in 
great cities are away from their charges, and their 
edifices are closed, at least a part of each Sabbath. 
Ministers get tired, and some relaxation from 
mental and nervous strain is requisite. Churches 
follow the examples of their pastors, and take a 
rest. But Satan never rests, and often succeeds 
in overthrowing in the summer what Christian 
people built up in the winter. There is no season 
of the year when humanity does not need the Gos- 
pel. In hot weather there are more sick-chambers 
and death-beds than at any other time. No city 
or town should be without full religious activity, 
even during the most enervating season. If pas- 
tors must all be absent every summer, they ought 
at least to adopt a rule by which only a portion 
will be away at the same time, and then have their 
pulpits constantly supplied by local or imported 
help. Similar care is also due from the people. 
A few stewards ought always to be in the field. 
The streams of benevolence should not run dry. 



Obscure Toilers. 



83 



The moral world is parched. It wants the rivers 
of "living water." Class-leaders need to provide 
well for spiritual prosperity, lest the moisture of 
piety turn into the " drought of summer." Daily 
we pray, " Thy kingdom come." How far off is it ? 
" It shall be one day which shall be known to the 
Lord, not day, nor night : but it shall come to 
pass, that at evening time it shall be light. And 
it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go 
out from Jerusalem ... in summer and in winter 
shall it be." 

OBSCUEE TOILEES. 

There are thousands of faithful ministers and 
Church members who are laboring on from year 
to year with no national fame or even more than a 
local notice. Yet these have- good consolation in 
the fact, that in their quiet way they are doing a 
great and enduring work. Large conventions, 
where thousands are in attendance, may make a 
big noise in the world and fill much space in the 
newspapers, yet accomplish but little practical 
good. The most of the work has to be done in a 
very different way. On this point, politicians un- 
derstand matters. They tell us that though mass- 
meetings and conventions are exciting, and per- 
haps long remembered, yet it is silent, hidden 



81 



Methodism ra the Field. 



work that influences the campaign, Those Chris- 
tians, therefore, who work in a private war, or in 
obscure places, 

ki little and unknown, 
Loved and prized by G-od alone," 

may congratulate themselves that, though no one 
on earth trumpets their fame, their telling record 
is on high. The achievements of some lives are 
published in time, and serve to make great names, 
but a whole eternity may be required to unfold 
the wondrous accomplishments of millions of souls 
of whom the world is not worthy. 

WHAT MAY WOMEN DO? 

The written history of woman's work is very 
imperfect : could the unwritten history be pro- 
duced it would astonish the world. In all the 
great movements of time man has been signalized 
as the accompli sher of every grand result. Xow 
and then an exception appears, as Mary Queen of 
Scots, and Catherine of Russia, and Maria The- 
resa, queen of Hungary. Xo literary artist ever 
painted a more affecting scene than that of the 
German archduchess casting herself upon the pro- 
tection of the Hungarians. She was the beautiful 
daughter of Charles the Sixth, the promulgator of 
the Pragmatic Sanction, by virtue of which Maria 



Maria Theresa. 



85 



Theresa was to succeed to the Austrian throne. 
She was in her twenty-fourth year. Her form was 
majestic, her countenance sweet and animated, 
her voice musical, her deportment gracious and 
dignified. In all domestic relations she was with- 
out reproach. She was married to a husband 
whom she loved, Francis of Lorraine. The sov- 
ereigns of Europe were bound by every solemn 
obligation to respect and defend her rights ; but 
when the king of Prussia, Frederick the Great, 
on the death of her father treacherously invad- 
ed her dominions, and conquered province after 
province, none was found to espouse her cause or 
stay up her hands in her struggle with the iron- 
hearted and victorious king. " Yet was the spirit 
of the haughty daughter of the Caesars unbroken. 
Hungary was still hers by an .unquestionable title ; 
and although her ancestors had found Hungary 
the most mutinous of all their kingdoms, she re- 
solved to trust herself to the fidelity of a people 
rude indeed, turbulent, and impatient of oppres- 
sion, but brave, generous, and simple-hearted. In 
the midst of distress and peril she had given birth 
to a son, afterward the Emperor Joseph the Second. 
Scarcely had she risen from her couch when she 
hastened to Presburg. There, in the sight of an 
innumerable multitude, she was crowned with the 



86 Methodism in the Field. 



crown and robed with the robe of St. Stephen. 
No spectator could restrain his tears when the 
beautiful young mother, still weak from child- 
bearing, rode, after the fashion of her fathers, up 
the Mount of Defiance, unsheathed the ancient 
sword of State, shook it toward north and south, 
east and west, and, with a glow on her pale face, 
challenged the four corners of the world to dispute 
her rights and those of her boy. At the first sit- 
ting of the diet she appeared clad in deep mourn- 
ing for her father, and in pathetic and dignified 
words implored her people to support her just 
cause. Magnates and deputies sprang up, half 
drew their sabers, and with eager voices vowed 
to stand by her with their lives and fortunes. 
Till then her firmness had never once forsaken 
her before the public eye ; but at that shout she 
sank down upon her throne and wept aloud. Still 
more touching was the sight when, a few days 
later, she came again before the estates of her 
realm, and held up before them the little archduke 
in her arms. Then it was that the enthusiasm of 
Hungary broke forth into that war-cry which soon 
resounded throughout Europe, " Let us die for our 
king, Maria Theresa ! " * 

The Bible represents women as having stood 
* Macaulay's Essays, p, 669, 



Women of the Old Testament, 



87 



up in all the dignity and strength of moral cour- 
age, to be the leaders of the people, and to bear 
faithful testimony to the truth. Jael, the wife of 
Heber, is pictured with daring coolness secreting 
in her tent a powerful foe, allaying his apprehen- 
sions of danger, soothing him into helpless slum- 
ber, pinning him to the earth with a spike through 
his brain, waiting unmoved for the arrival of his 
pursuers, and pointing them calmly to his lifeless 
body. Her heroism is caught up by the proph- 
etess of God, who carries it forward in popular 
song, " Blessed above women shall Jael the wife 
of Heber the Kenite be." 

The queen of Babylon is represented as bravely 
entering the banquet house of the sacrilegious 
king, and, pointing with unerring wisdom to a 
despised source of light, she -declares that Daniel 
can interpret the writing, "for in him is the spirit 
of the holy gods." When Judea was the scene 
of the impending judgments of God in the reign 
of Josiah, Huldah the prophetess alone was en- 
abled to speak the truth as to the cause of the 
divine displeasure. "When, in the days of the 
judges, Israel had backslidden and stood in dark- 
ness, no star of deliverance appeared until Deb- 
orah, the prophetess and judge, took the govern- 
ment in her own hands, and led the people to 



88 Methodism rx the Field, 



penitence, prayer, and victory. Her influence in 
her country in its time of peril is told in this 
language : "The stars in their courses fought 
against Sisera." Esther the queen, proved the 
agent of deliverance to the whole Jewish na- 
tion when Hainan, by calumny, had obtained the 
murderous royal decree. 

The voice of a woman, that of Elizabeth, was 
first of earth to proclaim to Mary, "Blessed art 
thou among women," "the mother of my Lord." 
When the child Jesus was presented in the tem- 
ple, Anna the prophetess joined good old Simeon 
in publicly giving thanks. When the unjust sen- 
tence of death was about to be pronounced upon 
Jesus, the only protesting voice was that of a 
woman : " Have thou nothing to do with that just 
man: for I have suffered many things this day in 
a dream because of him !" And when at last the 
rejected Christ was led away to be crucified, 
women followed in the throng, and to these alone 
he turned in his agony to say, " Daughters of Jeru- 
salem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and 
for your children," Women last lingered in holy 
love around the cross, and were first at the sepul- 
cher at the rising of the sun on the third day, car- 
rying sweet spices to embalm the body of their 
adorable Lord. To a woman Jesus first appeared 



Women of the New Testament. 89 



after his resurrection, and she was commissioned 
to carry the intelligence to the "brethren." 

In our Lord's parables women are prominently 
introduced as helpers in religious employment. 
One sweeps the house from attic to basement in 
search of the lost coin, and when she finds it, she 
summons others to assist in celebrating her tri- 
umph. Another puts leaven in three measures 
of meal, and by her agency the whole mass is 
changed. Another pleads with an ungodly and un- 
just judge for the vindication of her cause, until, 
wearied and troubled, he avenged her of her adver- 
sary, and gave the Master occasion to say that God 
will speedily "avenge his own elect, which cry 
day and night unto him," and that "men ought 
always to pray, and not to faint." Others take 
their lamps and go forth to mee't the Bridegroom, 
signifying an agency in illuminating the world. 

In the life of our Lord, also, there are important 
inferential teachings upon this subject. The im- 
portunate pleading of one woman called forth this 
testimony, " O woman, great is thy faith/" An- 
other accomplished a work, in anointing the feet 
of her Master, which was pronounced "good," and 
declared to be to her a perpetual memorial, and 
this, too, when men protested. Others, by their 
kindness and purity, so enlisted his sympathies, 



90 Methodism in the Field. 



that, according to the sacred historian, Jesus 
" loved " them, and when their brother, whom he 
also " loved," had died, he came from afar to bring 
the spirit back from the unseen world for further 
union with the body, restored in health and 
strength to the sisters' arms. The woman of 
Samaria he carefully instructed, and she went 
forth to proclaim his character as the " Christ," 
leading " many to believe on him." 

The great apostle to the Gentiles, in his letter 
to the Romans, commends " Phebe, a servant of 
the Church," probably a deaconess, and perhaps 
consecrated to the office by Paul himself. He 
speaks of her distinction and successful labors, as 
those also of Priscilla, Mary, Junia, Tryphena, 
Tryphosa, Persis, the mother of Rufus, and Julia. 
Rom. xvi, 1-16. In his letter to the Corinthians he 
commands the " brethren " to " help those women 
which labored with him in the Gospel." Phil, 
iv, 3. In his letter to the Galatians he uses 
language which unmistakably heralds woman 
as the peer of man in all religious duties and 
privileges: (i There is neither Jew nor Greek, 
there is neither bond nor free, there is neither 
male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." 
Wherever darkness is to be dispelled, suffering al- 
leviated, sorrow mitigated, messages borne, prayer. 



Paul and h is Female Helpers, 91 



offered ? or labor done, the Old and Xew Testa- 
ments authorize women to find a sphere of activ- 
ity. In the apostolic Churches they were allowed 
a voice in the devotions. It is true that Paul 
laid down emphatic restrictions which were neces- 
sary in some quarters — restrictions applicable to 
a special class, and as the result of a disreputable 
custom and abuse of privilege. ''Further than 
this, it may safely and fearlessly be affirmed that 
neither in the texts themselves, nor in their 
respective contexts, nor elsewhere in the Chris- 
tian Scriptures, is there a shadow of warrant 
authorizing the opinion that the seal of silence 
was divinely placed on the lips of Christian 
women when properly engaged in the public 
services of the sanctuary."* 

In the early Church woman's work was consid- 
ered important. So, also, in the Eastern Church 
of a later date. It was prominently so in the 
Western Church, though always with the sup- 
posed restrictions of Paul. Women were never 
consecrated to any ministerial function. It is 
disputed whether they were ordained; but it is 
certain there were deaconesses, and their duties 
are recorded, Tertullian wrote : u Let no woman 
speak in the Church, nor teach, nor baptize, nor 
* "Methodist Quarterly Review," April, 1878, p. 24£ 



92 



Methodism in the Field. 



offer the eucharist, nor arrogate to herself any 
manly function, lest two should claim the lot of 
the priestly office." Their duties were to instruct 
young students in theology, to take care of the 
sick and poor, to minister to martyrs and confess- 
ors in prison, to assist at the baptism of women, 
and otherwise have charge of female members of 
the Church. This office seems to have been dis- 
continued prior to the twelfth century. Unsuc- 
cessful attempts were made to restore it during 
the great Reformation, 

The Puritans of England, in the sixteenth cent- 
ury, called women to branches of their work, 
and societies of various names have been insti- 
tuted in that country to meet the felt demand for 
female activities. 

In the Roman Catholic Church there are va- 
rious sisterhoods which call into requisition the 
intellectual, and especially the spiritual, endow- 
ments of women. The orders of " Sisters of 
Charity," " Sisters of Mercy," " Grey Sisters," 
etc., are well known. 

In Protestant Churches, for a century past, a 
few organizations have existed calling for wom- 
an's limited activity. Within a quarter of a 
century the sphere of her work has greatly en- 
larged, until societies bear her name and char- 



Women in Churches for a Century Past. 93 

acter in the great reforms, and in almost every 
department of practical religious work. 

Mr. Wesley early called into exercise the pe- 
culiar faculties of Methodist women. Recogniz- 
ing their special adaptation in ministering to the 
wants of the sick, he also said, " And you may 
administer help of a more excellent kind, by sup- 
plying their spiritual wants ; instructing them 
(if they need such instruction) in the first prin- 
ciples of religion ; endeavoring to show them the 
dangerous condition they are in under the wrath 
and curse of God through sin ; and pointing them 
to the 6 Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin 
of the world.' Besides this general instruction, 
you might have abundant opportunities of com- 
forting those who are in pain of body or distress 
of mind; you might find opportunities of strength- 
ening the feeble-minded, quickening them that 
are faint and weary ; and of building up those 
who have believed, and encouraging them to go 
on to perfection."* Again he said, "It has long 
passed for a maxim with many, that ' women are 
only to be seen, not heard.' ... Is this doing 
honor to the sex ? . . . No, it is the deepest un- 
kindness ; it is horrid cruelty ; it is mere Turkish 
barbarity. And I know not how any woman of 
♦Wesley's Sermous, vol. ii, p. 331, 8vo. edition. 



94 Methodism in the Field. 



sense and spirit can submit to it. Let all you 
that have it in your power assert the right which 
the God of nature has given you. You, as well 
as men, are rational creatures. You, like them, 
were made in the image of God ; you are equally 
candidates for immortality ; you too are called 
of God, as you have time, to do good unto all 
men ? "* 

It has never been a policy of Methodism to rob 
home of its demand for woman's consecration and 
labor. On the contrary, it has held that de- 
sertion of home for any purpose, even on the part 
of good-meaning women, only tends to strengthen 
the allies of Satan in their efforts to overthrow 
Christianity. Besides, where can such a sphere of 
usefulness be found as the home ? As wife, mother, 
neighbor, friend, there is opportunity to achieve 
a glorious work. Many a pure woman, in that 
" far away home of the soul," will reign in exalted 
splendor who on earth had no great fame, but who 
was really the God-anointed queen of the grandest 
realm over which any human being can rule. 

But there have been hundreds of women in 
Methodism whose time was not thus wholly oc- 
cupied, and for such, inviting fields of Christian 
labor have been opened. " Devout women " la- 
* "Wesley's Sermons, vol. ii, p. 335. 8vo. edition. 



Women of Methodism. 



95 



bored publicly among the earliest Methodist So- 
cieties, approved by Mr. "Wesley and esteemed 
by all. Among those more or less abroad, were 
Mary Fletcher, Hester Ann Rogers, Sarah Crosby, 
Ann Tripp, Grace Murray, Ann Cutler, Dinah 
Evans, and Elizabeth Wallbridge, or the " Dairy- 
man's Daughter." 

In the Methodist Episcopal Church few, if any, 
obstacles have been placed in the way of the 
greatest usefulness of female members. In mis- 
sionary work, the women of American Methodism 
have now an exalted place. There are bright 
names of women in the history of the Parent 
Missionary Society, while the Woman's Foreign 
Missionary Society is itself a standing monument 
of their ability, zeal, and practical efficiency. And 
not merely in mission work, and to help bear the 
burdens and do the " drudgery," but also in pub- 
lic prayer, and testimony, and exhortation, have 
they been called to exercise their gifts. A formal 
license to preach has been denied to Methodist 
women, but the denial has been couched in such 
terms, and received by the Church in such a 
spirit, that they have gone on just the same, 
gathering great congregations of willing and 
"weeping hearers, and leading to Christ from 
among them "such as should be saved." And it 



96 



Methodism in the Field. 



may be said, that when God smiles upon their 
ministry, and the voice of the Church calls them 
as evangelists and preachers to her altars, it may 
be as proper as it was for Miriam, in obedience to 
Moses, to prophesy upon the timbrel before the 
camps of Israel, or for Susanna, the mother of 
the TTesieys, publicly to minister to assembled 
hundreds at the Epworth rectory. 

At the General Conference of IS 72 the follow- 
ing resolutions were adopted: — 

" Whereas, the Ladies and Pastors' Christian 
Union is doing valuable service, by systematic- 
ally employing the women of the Church under 
the supervision of the regular pastorate in relig- 
ious work in the homes of the people, and espe- 
cially among the neglected masses who do not 
come to church ; and, 

Whereas, a large proportion of the Church are 
women, and there is a wide field of usefulness 
opened up before them in this direction for 
which they are eminently fitted ; therefore, 

Hesolved, That the prayer of the memorialists be 
granted, and that the Ladies and Pastors' Chris- 
tian Union be, and hereby is, recognized as a reg- 
ularly constituted Society of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church.'' 

Manv of the Annual Conferences at their next 



Ladies and Pastors' 1 Christian Union. 97 



ensuing sessions took up the spirit of this resolu- 
tion and organized conference societies, recom- 
mending also the organization of auxiliary socie- 
ties in all pastoral charges. Such action in the 
highest council of the Church, shows the dispo- 
sition of " Christianity in earnest " to utilize all 
practicable agencies and means for accomplish- 
ing the "work whereunto God hath called us." 
There was a time when, by rule of Discipline, 
men and women were recommended to sit apart 
in religious services ; but the same spirit of Chris- 
tian purity and common sense which rendered that 
rule obsolete, called ladies and pastors into a 
bond of union for special work among the af- 
flicted, among strangers, among the friendless, 
and poor, and destitute, and in the. distribution of 
money, and bread, and tracts, and religious infor- 
mation among all classes, according as their ne- 
cessities require. This work is done through the 
agency of committees, and takes in every depart- 
ment of Christian usefulness — Sunday-schools, re- 
vivals, and temporalities not excepted. 

Notwithstanding a technicality of disciplinary 
regulation, which provides that the stewards 
shall "be men of solid piety," on many circuits 
and stations women have been elected to that 
office, and have demonstrated the wisdom of such 



98 Methodism in the Field. 



election by promptly, pacifically, and fully pro- 
viding for all financial claims. Appearances in- 
dicate that the day is not far distant when the 
work of the Church, of every kind and name, 
will no longer be designated as " woman's work," 
or " man's work," or " children's work," but when 
the redeemed race, baptized fully with the spirit 
of simplicity, charity, and humility, will hail all 
duty, and privilege, and responsibility, and sacri- 
fice, as component elements of Christian work. 
Then the welcome of Jesus to Christian toilers, 
" Come, ye blessed of my Father," etc., will have 
unrestricted application. 

BROAD WAY TRAVELERS; 

OE, 

THE WORLD THAT LIETH IN WICKEDNESS. 

Extending before our vision is a mystical fabric 
having the appearance of an endless wall, whose 
height no mortal can scale. It is called The Epoch 
of Human Accountability. No mortal ever entered 
upon the experiences of mature life without pass- 
ing through it by one of two apertures, (for it has 
but two,) into that which the wall conceals. One 
of these apertures is styled the "Strait Gate," 
and the other the "Wide Gate." Over each of 
these gateways is an inscription for the guidance 



The Narrow and the Broad Way, 99 



of travelers. That over the "Strait Gate," in plain 
red letters, as if written with blood, reads : — 

STRAIT GATE: 

E>"TEAXCE TO 

THE NARROW WAY, 

"WHICH LEADS TO 

ETERXAL LIFE, UXFADIXG- HOXORS, IMMORTAL 
GLORY. 

Opened only hy Faith in Jems Christ. 

That over the "Wide Gate," in large, shining 
capitals, as if written with a pencil of gold, reads 
as follows : — 

WIDE GATE: 

E^TEA>"CE TO 

THE BROAD WAY, 

LEADING TO 

WORLDLY WEALTH, FAME, PLEASURE, EASE, 
POWER. 
Opened by a single volition of Will. 

Entering with the few thoughtful souls that 
find the " Strait Gate," we behold, rising to our 
view, a long, direct, narrow path, firm to the tread, 
and thickly studded on either side with tablets 
bearing such inscriptions as these : "Let us run 
with patience the race that is set before us ! " 
" Follow after charity ! " " Fear God and keep 
his commandments ! " " Thou shalt love thy 



100 Methodism m the Field. 



neighbor as thyself ! " "In honor preferring one 
another ! " " He which converteth the sinner 
from the error of his way shall save a soul from 
death." " Go out into the highways and hedges 
and compel them to come in ! " 

Thronging the air around and above the path- 
way are beautiful forms of angelic mold and move- 
ment, as if engaged in performing unseen minis- 
tries to the heirs of salvation. Stretching farther 
away, and rising in the distance, are great clouds 
of witnesses, while above and beyond all, at the 
end of the course, is One glorious in majesty, 
heavenly in countenance, and divine in demeanor, 
upon whom every eye of faith is cast. 

Just over the boundaries of this narrow path we 
behold another company — a vaster concourse, in 
a grand thoroughfare, subdivided into a thousand 
splendid avenues, all leading in the same general 
direction, and really, though not apparently, to 
the same destination. Some present greater 
attractions than others to allure on the excited 
hosts. Before their final termini a few culminate 
in worldly dominion — even thrones and crowns; 
some in vast commercial enterprises ; others in em- 
inences of envied reputation ; many in momentary 
gratification of various forms ; while the paths of 
a larger number are paved with thorns and utterly 



Deceptions of Life. 



101 



destitute of all desirableness. The strange phe- 
nomenon of the whole scene is, that every traveler 
beholds some glittering phantom, and regardless 
of price or condition seeks its immediate posses- 
sion. Of the few who accomplish their purpose 
and bear off the fatal prize, ninety-nine per cent., 
wearied, worn, and wasted with the long strife, 
live but a moment to enjoy their reward, then fall 
stricken and doomed at the point of their triumph. 
The vast majority never reach the fascinating 
charm, for in the very hour of their fondest an- 
ticipation their pathways terminate, and they sink 
to rise no more. 

As the beholder contemplates this great com- 
pany amid their endless activities and attitudes, 
the heart is gladdened at the sight of one here 
and another there, occasionally " forming little 
groups, discontented and unsatisfied with the 
baubles of an empty chase, separate themselves 
from their frenzied companions to enter the little 
alleys which, along the right hand side, lead to 
the narrow pathway. 

These alleys diminish in number as they ex- 
tend along the line, candidates for divine favor 
growing less numerous as the worldly contestants 
advance in life. All of these entrances, whether 
those near at hand or afar off, are characterized 



102 Methodism in the Field. 



by one condition of ingress : " Repentance toward 
God and faith, in Jesus Christ/' so that nothing is 
gained by long delay. The angel of mercy hov- 
ers over every one, waiting to calm troubled souls. 
The heralds of redemption speed out from every 
portal, proclaiming the everlasting Gospel, and 
crying to all, " Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye 
die?" Our souls are stirred to their profoundest 
depth as we look upon the sad but smiling faces 
of these messengers of life, and hear their solemn 
warnings and tender solicitations as they follow 
the deceived and blinded throngs to the very pre- 
cincts of perdition, if possible to snatch them from 
the jaws of hell. With tearful Jeremiah we could 
wish that our heads were waters and our eyes 
fountains of tears, that we might " weep day and 
night for the slain " of the careless, despairing, or 
blaspheming hosts, as with madness in their hearts 
they sweep on to death. Turning to revelation 
for an explanation, we read, " These, as natural 
brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed, 
speak evil of the things that they understand not; 
and shall utterly perish in their own cornrption ; 
and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, 
as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day 
time." 2 Pet. ii, 12, 13. 

Coming out now from the mystic vision, let us 



Salvation Chosen or Rejected. 103 

make a comparison, and see how far it truthfully 
represents the scenes of actual life. Every indi- 
vidual on coming to years of understanding nec- 
essarily enters upon one of two courses — a religious 
or an irreligious life. There is no middle ground, 
no roundabout way. The wall of accountability 
cannot be scaled. There must be at some period 
of every intelligent existence a deliberate choice 
of right or wrong, life or death, heaven or hell. 
The conditions and rewards of each course could 
not be plainer were they emblazoned on material 
signboards at every turn. As Moses set life and 
death before the Israelites of old, exhorting them 
to choose life that immortality might be theirs, 
and calling on heaven to witness that he had so 
done, so the preachers of righteousness set life and 
death before the people to-day, w-ho, deliberately 
and understandingly, while the witnessing angel 
in heaven makes the record, choose their desired 
portion. 

The large majority select the way of death ; or 
rather, failing to choose the way of life, are left 
in the downward course. To the eye of sense, it 
has more to allure and less to oppose. The en- 
trance is wider, the conditions less stringent, and 
the visible compensations more fascinating and of 
quicker realization. 



104 Methodism ra the Field. 



Having decided upon the world, mortals single 
out some object ; they lav some plan ; they aim at 
some achievement. It may be riches, or position, 
or unbridled license — the objects of human desire 
being as endless as character and pursuit. Many 
pursue with avidity. They struggle, they agonize ; 
"they see the phantom before them, and their 
eagerness to grasp it is extreme. They rush for- 
ward to gratification ; they break through all re- 
straints ; turn a deaf ear to all remonstrances ; set 
at naught the law of God, the cross of Christ, the 
Christian Church, and the interest of body and 
soul ; they run, they sweat, they toil, to the whip 
and spur of some master passion ; M until, with a 
wrecked nature and embittered life, they go to 
their untimely death and awful doom. 

Even after entering upon a godless life mortals 
have chances for salvation. All along the earthly 
pilgrimage opportunities are afforded for entering 
the narrow way. Jesus, the great Mediator, waits 
to confer new-covenant blessings upon every peni- 
tent and trusting soul. Sacred instrumentalities — 
as sermons, prayers, religious conversations, hymns 
of praise, social restraints, pious relations ; solemn 
providences, as sickness, misfortune, bereavement, 
accident — all these are overtures of mercy. 

Human beings are lost because they wiU not be. 



Humanity Self-Destroyed. 



105 



saved. Many despise warnings, reject invitations, 
neglect opportunities. Many listen, but pass on. 
Others mock, others scoff, but most refuse. Time 
passes on. The decisive day arrives. The clock 
strikes the hour. Death darts the sting and the 
soul's destiny is sealed. Who can forget the 
words of the weeping Saviour ? He stood on the 
mountain side and looked over the doomed city. 
He had walked its streets and entreated its inhab- 
itants. Despised and rejected, he could only raise 
his voice in the tearful lamentation, " Jerusa- 
lem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and 
stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often 
would I have gathered thy children together, even 
as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, 
and ye would not ! Behold, your house is left 
unto you desolate." Matt, xxiii, 3 7, 38. 

It is not needful that these various persons 
should bear a placard to announce their character, 
aims, or destiny. The true spirit of every life 
finds unmistakable exponents in the words, or 
deeds, or bearing of the different travelers. " By 
their fruits shall ye know them." Thousands, 
yea millions, throng the popular thoroughfare 
of human sinfulness ; " wise in their own con- 
ceits," there is more hope of fools. "Wide 
is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth 



106 Methodism in the Field. 



to destruction, and many there be which go in 
thereat." 

MOEALISTS. 

Good habits and good principles are alike be- 
coming to all. So needful are they, that legis- 
lators have made them the subjects of civil enact- 
ments. Morality is required by the law. Pro- 
fanity, Sabbath-breaking, gambling, and unclean- 
ness are all forbidden. Ignoring the claims of 
the higher law, and yet meeting the requirements 
of the statute, men may be outwardly moral; and 
this is what many are. But how far does moral- 
ity take them? Only, at the very best, abreast 
of the legal claims of society. But God demands 
more. He insists that men shall be honest, not 
simply because the law requires it, but because it 
is in keeping with a better spirit and a purer life. 
He holds up the standard of virtue, exacting con- 
formity to it, not alone because society demands 
it, and is the better for it, but because it is in 
keeping with his own character, and indicates a 
spirit of obedience to his will. He who meets 
God's requirements is not only true in life, but 
pure in heart. The germ of his morality is love. 
His good words, deeds, and bearing, spring from 
a fountain of goodness opened by grace in his 
soul. He would not break a just civil law, be- 



Moralists. 



107 



cause to keep the law is in entire harmony with 
his own spirit of consecration to the service of 
God. Morality springs from his experience just 
as the rose shoots from the stem, or the grain 
from the stalk. If it be not so, he may well go 
back to first principles, and determine whether, 
indeed, he has been renewed in the spirit of his 
mind. Christ came not to make void the law. 
His followers are bound to observe it. 

On the other hand, the mere keepers of the law 
may be very destitute of the gospel spirit. A 
young man came to Jesus with such a conscious- 
ness. All the commandments he had observed 
from his childhood, but a want of the satisfying 
experience extorted the question, "What lack I 
yet?" 

Morality is a fruit of the Gospel. George 
Washington said, it could not subsist without the 
Gospel. Christian doctrine and experience are its 
chief corner-stones. Without them its foundation 
is the sand, and it is sure to fall. 

What folly is manifested by those who would 
do away with the Bible, the Church, the ministry, 
and vital religion, and yet seek to retain good so- 
ciety and commendable conduct. How absurd, 
too, the boasts of those, who, without God in the 
world, manifest the spirit, and perhaps express 



108 



Methodism in the Field. 



the belief, that they are as good as Christians. 
It may possibly be true that they are as good as 
some professors, but no Christless soul is as good 
as the Christ-like soul. However perfect the out- 
ward conformity in either, that is best which is 
right and pure within. A baby, mounted on the 
shoulders of its father, may cry out, " How much 
taller I am than papa ! " and be less deceived than 
they who, upheld in their integrity of life by the 
force of the gospel spirit manifested around them, 
exclaim, " Behold, we are better than they." Mor- 
alists should not be less moral than they are, but 
more religious. 

" To Christian morality the highest standard 
and noblest place must be assigned; indeed, it is 
Christian morality which must not only precede, 
but supersede, all other systems of morality." * 
"What the duties of morality are," says Cole- 
ridge, " the apostle instructs the believer in full, 
comprising them under the two heads of negative 
and positive: negative, to keep himself pure from 
the world; and positive, beneficence from loving- 
kindness : that is, love of his fellow-men as him- 
self. Last and highest comes the spiritual, com- 
prising all the truths, acts, and duties that have 
an especial reference to the timeless, the perma- 
* M'Clintock and Strong. 



Calling to Repentance. 109 



nent, the eternal ; to the sincere love of the true 
as truth, of the good as good, and of God as both 
in one." O, what a gulf separates between that 
apparent morality, springing from mere fear of 
the law, or at most, a desire to meet the approba- 
tion of society, and that real morality which is 
" none other than the spirit of divine love, of the 
fullest, inmost, and truly unconditional surrender 
to God and his most holy purposes." 

CALLING TO BEPENTANCE. 

In the parable of the supper (Luke xiv, 16-24) 
the host is represented as sending out his servants 
to call in the invited guests. When the various 
excuses were returned, the unreasonableness of 
which angered tke master of the house, the serv- 
ants were sent out into the streets and lanes of 
the city to bring in the willing poor, and maimed, 
and halt, and blind. This being done, room for 
guests still remained, and the lord said to his 
servants, " Go out into the highways and hedges, 
and compel them to come in, that my house may 
be filled." 

This parable may have application to the efforts 
of the great Master in providing guests for the 
gospel feast. The Jews were the chosen people, 
but they denied him : " He came unto his own, 



110 



Methodism m the Field. 



and his own received him not." Even after they 
had rejected him and crucified him, he still 
mourned over them with loving, holy, and divine 
grief, and gave commandment to the apostles 
to begin "at Jerusalem" in proclaiming the Gos- 
pel to every creature." The centuries interven- 
ing between the time when Jesus said, "It is 
finished," and John his servant sounded the apoc- 
alyptic call, " The Spirit and the Bride say, Come; 
and let him that heareth say, Come ; and let him 
that is athirst come; and whosoever will, let him 
take the water of life freely" — and the time when 
the evangelists of the eighteenth century closed 
their work, may answer to the second endeavor 
to fill the house of the feast. The calls of early 
Methodism were especially extended to the 
"poor." Its grandest spiritual triumphs were 
among the lowly, who answered gladly to the sur- 
prising invitations thus extended. They thronged 
the chapels, and crowded around the temporary 
altars, of the TTesleys and their associates, until, 
when the years had flown, a company of vast ex- 
tent had thronged the portals of the Lord's house. 
And yet there was room. Then the Lord of all, 
through the agency of his Spirit, issued the proc- 
lamation for a draft: " Compel them to come in! " 
The weapons of the warfare were not to be car- 



" Compel Them to Come In." Ill 



nal, nor the means of enlistment such as to de- 
stroy free-will power. The great commission was 
to be acted under in such a way that sin-sick 
souls should be cm*ed in the very act of being 
drawn. The Church squared her forces for the 
contest. Organization was completed, training in- 
stitutions established, benevolent societies formed, 
official relations and distinctions adjusted, weak 
points of discipline strengthened, offensive points 
modified, recruiting officers sent out, and scenes 
of revival opened. In "highways and hedges," 
within strong walls, on wide-spreading plains, in 
forest depths, along mountain sides and river 
banks were heard the shouts, and songs, and bat- 
tle-cries of the militant hosts, until, in some in- 
stances, the fields' of conquest were literally cov- 
ered with the powerless bodies of the Lord's slain. 

Most of the revival methods and tactics have 
been retained to this day. The old hymns form 
the bulk of the standard collections. New tunes 
have been composed, but the primitive melodies 
are not forgotten. The sermons of the fathers 
make up the best literature of their class. The 
decisive arguments against sin live forever, and 
are no less potent now than they were then to 
make moral culprits tremble, All along the lines 
of the Church weeks of every year are devoted 



112 



Methodism in the Field. 



to revival efforts. In most instances the siege is 
longer before Satan's allies give way and allow 
the sin- consuming fire to sweep on. Many socie- 
ties struggle for months before the foes of Zion 
are captured. But the many columns of revival 
intelligence in the official and independent Meth- 
odist " bulletins " indicate comparatively few 
drawn engagements. 

The servants of God must continue to sound 
the alarms and extend the calls. The thunders 
of battle must echo upon the ears of the nations. 
The terms of surrender must never be compro- 
mised. The friends of Christ must furnish ample 
materials and supplies. Nor must there be the 
slightest relaxation of effort anywhere, until over 
all the earth the glad news of redemption's feast 
and the soul's only refuge have been made known 
to the sons of men. 

INVITING SINNEES. 
Methodism has ever manifested a tender re- 
gard for " truly awakened hearts." She offers 
the advantages of her ministries, society, and 
sacraments, to all those who do " truly and ear- 
nestly repent of their sins, and are in love and 
charity with their neighbors, and intend to lead 
a new life, following the commandments of God, 



Inviting Sinners. 



118 



and walking from henceforth, in his holy ways." 
One of her most endeared songs is that old hymn 
of invitation, written by Joseph Hart, " Come, ye 
sinners, poor and needy ! " She has made the 
arches of her temples ring, and the depths of the 
forests in which she has worshiped echo, with 
its melody. Her attitude before the subdued in 
spirit is ever that of loving expostulation and 
holy entreaty. With tearful eyes she goes to 
the strong man and urges upon his acceptance 
the suffering Saviour. She goes to the young 
with smiling face, and points them in the way to 
life. She takes age by the arm and directs the 
trembling steps to the open fountain. She de- 
spises none ; she despairs of none. In every ear 
she whispers, 

" He now stands knocking at the door 

Of every sinner's heart : 
The "worst need keep him out no more, 

Nor force him to depart." 

In this important work both pastor and people 
join. From the pulpit the public invitation is 
extended. Through the congregation the per- 
sonal appeals are made. From every Christian 
heart there goes a spirit of yearning desire for 
the welfare of the unsaved. " Turn ye, turn ye, 

for why will ye die," is the burden of prayer 
8 



114 Methodism ra the Field. 



and exhortation. In the midst of such a service 
even the impenitent say, "It is good to be here/' 
The serious-minded declare, " TV"e will go with 
you : for we have heard that God is with you.*' 
Then all lips unite in uttering " praise to our 
redeeming Lord." 

DIRECTING SEEKERS. 

There are those disposed to seek Christ spas- 
modicoJ.li/. Some powerful exhortation, solemn 
providence, or adverse fortune, turns the atten- 
tion toward the soul's safety, and under the im- 
pulse of the hour a step is earnestly taken to- 
ward Christ. But the good seed is hardly sown 
ere Satan snatches it away ; or, if it is suffered to 
germinate and grow for a season, the thorns of 
worldliness and unhallowed pleasure choke it, and 
the last state becomes worse than the first. A 
fixed principle should underlie all that is emo- 
tional within man ; then shall he be delivered 
from the guilt and odium of drawing back, and 
thus forfeiting the favor of the Almighty. 

Too many others would seek Christ nominally. 
It has come to pass that the Christian garb is 
sometimes of secular value, and there are those 
unprincipled enough to covet the holy name, who 
decline to exhibit the character, of a Christian. 



Directing Seekers, 115 

This is one trouble with the Church of the pres- 
ent. There are those Avithin her pale whose right- 
eousness does not exceed the righteousness of the 
scribes and Pharisees. They pay their way in 
the temporalities, but in the affairs of the heart 
they keep back part of the price, and thus " lie 
to the Holy Ghost.*' Such characters must deem 
it no severity if at last they cry, " Lord. Lord/' 
and yet are rejected. 

Christ will be found of those who seek him 
sincerely, confidently, and perseveringly. Their 
souls will be lightened with divine sunshine, and 
they shall walk in the light as he is in the light, 
having fellowship one with another. 

There are few, if any. duties of Christians more 
responsible and delicate than directing penitent 
souls in the way to life. To ascertain the precise 
condition of the mind, so as to correct erroneous 
notions or supply needed information ; to deter- 
mine the degree of conviction, so that the appro- 
priate element of the divine character may be 
presented ; to find how complete is the self-sur- 
render, so as to vindicate the willingness of God 
to receive ; to search out the nature of past of- 
fenses, so as to suggest the proper confession to 
be made ; and to call into exercise a present 
humble trust that the assurance of pardon may 



116 Methodism in the Field. 



be felt ; all these require a discrimination of 
judgment, plainness of utterance, force of coun- 
sel, and warmth of heart, unlike any other work. 
There is no place in this world like that beside a 
trembling spiritual mourner to make an intelli- 
gent and pure man or w£>raan " covet earnestly 
the best gifts." 

So, there is no satisfaction more complete than 
that arising from the consciousness of having 
successfully led an immortal soul out from na- 
ture's darkness into His marvelous light. How 
it will bring the rush of tears when the new con- 
vert testifies to the fact of relief ! After such a 
triumph, with what zest can the worker sing, 

" One more day's work for Jesus ! 
How sweet the work has been, 

To tell the story, 

To show the glory, 
Where Christ's flock enter in ! 

How it did shine 

In this poor heart of mine! " 

TESTIFYING IX EEVIVALS. 

A brother arose in a spirited social meeting and 
said, " It is all dark to me, all dark." Such a tes- 
timony was like the bursting of a thunderbolt 
in a clear sky, and suggested whether it is bet- 
ter to speak the feelings of the heart when ad- 



Testifying in Revivals, 



117 



verse to the spirit of the meeting? Certainly 
there should be no sympathy on such occasions 
with " chronic grumblers," nor with certain pro- 
fessors who are forever afflicted with the "blue 
devils of spiritual despondency." But the best 
Christians are not supposed always to dwell 
upon the mountain top of spiritual exultation. 
Their faith may always be unwavering, but the 
emotional nature is subject to depressing influ- 
ences. In such a state is it better to speak of 
what is felt or what is believed? Much is owing 
to the occasion. If in a revival meeting, and souls 
are alarmed for sin and seeking salvation, it will 
not be likely to help forward the work for one 
long in the way to speak of spiritual gloom. 

Some persons are not considerate. It might not 
be seemly to say that Satan uses them to hinder 
the work ; but as a matter of fact they often prove 
stumbling-blocks in the way of seekers. There 
are those who, in a revival meeting, appear to 
imagine that the time has come not only to take 
the whole life under a grand review, but to spread 
its history upon the unmarked pages of new con- 
verts' hearts. The result is, that tried pastors 
and people " sing them down," or ring them down, 
as was once done on a camp-ground in Michigan. 
A good brother whose propensity it was to talk 



118 Methodism in the Field. 



so low that no person could understand him at 
a distance of ten feet, and so long that no one 
tried to follow him, was reviewing the past from 
Adam down, when the leader of the meeting 
seized the bell-rope, and the old man took his seat 
with his voice completely lost amid the metallic 
vibrations. 

As a rule, a living religious experience can be 
indicated in a few words, and those who are 
"prone to wander" into great length, generally 
wander into great breadth also. The result is, 
they have length and breadth but no depth. Pas- 
tors should appoint special meetings for those who 
want to "tell it all." Give Brother Great-length 
and Sister Castdown whole evenings in which to 
tell their experience, and let come who will. 

The revival meeting is no place for any kind of 
testimonies but those which are quick, warm, and 
living. If an experienced Christian gets under 
the cloud he knows how to get out. Let him take 
himself to prayer and confession to God, and when 
the bright rays of the Sun of Righteousness are 
again shining upon his soul, he will have some- 
thing to say which will help, not hinder. " Quick- 
en me after thy loving-kindness ; so shall I keep 
the testimony of thy mouth." 



Experiencing Religion. 119 



EXPERIENCING RELIGION. 

Man is a depraved being. He has within him 
an " evil heart of unbelief in departing from the 
living God." "The heart is deceitful above all 
things, and desperately wicked." The efforts of 
men to disprove human depravity are as vain as 
attempts to discover perpetual motion. There is 
no perpetual motion but the movements of the 
natural heart toward sin — and they are "evil 
continually." 

But " where sin abounded, grace did much more 
abound." Sinners may become saints. The world 
has been pictured in these chapters as lying in 
wickedness ; God's servants as calling, " We be- 
seech you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to 
God;" and seekers have been directed toward the 
source of life. How shall they enter the spiritual 
kingdom ? Jesus said, " I am the door ; by me if 
any man enter in, he shall be saved." What is 
the nature of this entrance, and what are its tok- 
ens ? In a word, 

" How can a sinner know 
His sins on earth forgiven ? " 

Before the advent of Methodism the Church 
held that the knowledge of personal salvation was 



120 Methodism m the Field. 



impossible of realization in this life. We may 
imagine Christians singing : — 

" 'Tis a thing I long to know, 
Oft it gives me anxious thought ; 

Do I love the Lord or no. 
Am I his, or am I not ? " 

And then, studying his book, amid trials, afflic- 
tions, bereavements, and persecutions, such as 
Christians have known, we may see poor strug- 
gling souls rising in faith and contemplating de- 
liverance : — 

" There is a home in yonder skies — 
A heaven where pleasure never dies — 
A heaven I sometimes hope to see, 
And then I fear 'tis not for me." 

To dispel these doubts and banish these fears 
Methodism took up the word of God where Jesus 
and the apostles left it. "Ye shall know the doc- 
trine." " We have heard him ourselves, and know 
that this is indeed the Christ." Jesus came "to 
give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the 
remission of their sins." Hence Paul wrote to the 
Romans, " Ye have received the Spirit of adop- 
tion, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." "The 
Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that 
we are the children of God." Hence John wrote, 
" We know that we have passed from death unto 
life, because we love the brethren." Hence Mr. 



Methodism Teaches a Conscious Religion, 121 

Wesley wrote, " How does it appear to yon, that 
you are alive, and that yon are now in ease, and 
not in pain ? Are you not immediately conscious 
of it ? By the same immediate consciousness you 
will know if your soul is alive to God ; if you are 
saved from the pain of proud wrath, and have the 
ease of a meek and quiet spirit. By the same 
means you cannot but perceive if you love, rejoice, 
and delight in God. Bv the same vou must be 
directly assured if you love your neighbor as your- 
self ; if you are kindly afTectioned to all mankind 
and full of gentleness and long-suffering." * 

The particular manner or method of the divine 
assurance of pardon may not be explained. " Such 
knowledge is too wonderful for" us. "The wind 
bloweth where it listeth, and thou nearest the sound 
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and 
whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of the 
Spirit." But though the process be hidden from 
mortal eyes, and beyond the reasoning of mortal 
minds, the fact itself is for the conscious experience 
of every one who exercises c< godly sorrow unto 
repentance," and unyielding faith unto salvation. 

One obstacle to conversion is frequently found 
in a preconceived notion, in the mind of the seek- 
ers, of the way of life. Often a formula is unhap- 
* Sermons, vol. i. p. 87. Octavo edition. 



122 



Methodism in the Field. 



pily prescribed by those who counsel them. The 
resemblance in the exercises connected with regen- 
eration and pardon is only a general one. " There 
are diversities of operations, but it is the same God 
which worketh all in all." "In some cases the 
fears are greatly excited ; in other cases there is 
a total absence of fear. In some cases there is a 
deep sense of guilt — remorse ; in other cases, a 
calm conviction of sin and ruin. In some cases 
there is a conscious feeling of sin forgiven : in 
others a faint hope of mercy. Some persons can 
point to the place and time when the change took 
place ; others can point only to the changed de- 
sires and aspirations of the soul. A man should 
not ask whether he has been converted according 
to some prescribed formula ; but whether his 
present feelings, thoughts, and actions show that 
he is in harmony with God." * Have old things 
j^assed away, and all things become new? Is 
there new love for God and new desire and power 
to a keep his commandments ? " So shall he know 
that he is the child of God, 

Short of an assuring experience no seeker should 
ever stop. The cry should go up from his soul : 

" Come as tliou wilt, I that resign, 
But 0. my Jesus, come ! " 

* ''Thoughts on the Religious Life. 1 ' p. 39. 



Conversion a Complete Henovation. 



123 



The promise is on record, and it is one of the 
exceeding great and precious promises, *If any 
man will open the door, I will come in to him, and 
sup with him, and he with me." Let the bolts of 
penitence be fully drawn, and the door of faith be 
swung wide open, to the pleading Saviour. He is 
as good as his word. In his own way he will en- 
ter, and O, what a rich repast ! The sinner and 
the Saviour sup together, and the food is heavenly 
manna ! And who can tell the change in that spir- 
itual mansion which Jesus enters and where he 
abides. Like the lightning's flash, or gradually as 
the coming of day, the light of knowledge pours 
from room to room ; the mildew of sin disappears ; 
the warmth of piety softens the air, and all is 
renovated and completely new. 

" Xow joy to that dwelling; 'tis darkness no more; 
Its chill desolation forever is o'er. 
Now vocal with praise from foundation to dome 
In songs of rejoicing and singing of home/' 

METHODISM AXD CHRISTIAN BAPTISM. 
Baptism is a sign of regeneration, and a seal on 
God's part of promised blessings, and on man's 
part of pledged obedience. Believing adults and 
infant children are proper subjects of Christian 
baptism. Persons of mature age must " be con- 
verted and become as little children," if they 



124 



Methodism ix the Field. 



would enter the spiritual kingdom. To infants, 
baptism is a sign of Christ's present blessing. He 
blessed them when on earth. Some of his follow- 
ers objected to parents bringing their infants for- 
ward; but the Master rebuked the over-wise, took 
the tender babes in his arms, and said, " Of such' 
is the kingdom of heaven." Many Christian par- 
ents have been blessed in the act of dedicating 
their children to the Lord, and promising for them 
faithful training. The indirect benefits to chil- 
dren of such religious consecration is valuable be- 
yond estimate. 

Concerning the mode of baptism much has been 
said and written. The Methodist Discipline rec- 
ognizes any one of three modes as valid: "Let 
every adult person, and the parents of every child 
to be baptized, have the choice either of immer- 
sion, sprinkling, or pouring." But the teachings 
of Methodist theologians are more pronounced. 
"While most of them recognize immersion as valid, 
because it makes little difference how water is ap- 
plied, they also set forth arguments decidedly 
against it. Every Methodist minister, in passing 
through the conference course of study, is taught 
that either sprinkling or pouring is preferable to 
immersion. Immersion is held to be antagonistic 
to pious thought, both in the candidate and spec* 



Methodism and Christian Baptism. 125 



tators; it is imprudent, exposing health, and en- 
dangering life. Under some circumstances it is 
impossible, as with the dying and in desert places; 
is ofttimes inconvenient, and sometimes even in- 
delicate; is useless, "much water "being of no 
avail, even for bodily cleansing, when the body 
is only wet, not washed; is in opposition to the 
Spirit's work, water tending to chill warmth and 
extinguish fire; contradicts the mode of spiritual 
baptism, that being invariably by a " shedding 
forth" or "pouring out;" it is unscriptural, the 
Bible nowhere, either by example or command, 
teaching it. The thousands on the day of Pente- 
cost could not have been immersed. They did 
not assemble with any thought of being baptized, 
consequently had no change of raiment, which 
would have been necessary unless they were bap- 
tized in a state of nudity, which is not supposable. 
Xor could the disciples have possibly endured the 
fatigue of baptizing so large a number by immer- 
sion, even if they had come prepared. In the case 
of the eunuch, there is no evidence of immersion. 
So far as can be gathered from the scriptures, 
Philip went into the water as far as the eunuch 
did. How "he baptized him" is left wholly to 
conjecture or to the teachings of other scriptures. 
John's baptism was with water, probably sprinkled 



126 Methodism in the Field. 



upon the multitude which came unto him with the 
"hyssop branch/' after the custom of the ancient 
Jews in their ceremonial cleansings. He resorted 
to places of " much water " only for convenience' 
sake. The example of Jesus is often brought 
forward, and to the tender but uninstructed minds 
of young converts it forms a potent argument. 
But it must be remembered that Jesus could not 
have received " John's baptism,*' however that 
may have been administered; for it was a "bap- 
tism unto repentance," and Jesus being perfectly 
holy, had nothing to repent of; hence could not 
have received the sign of repentance. The bap- 
tism of Jesus was an isolated case. It was not 
an " example " to any body. It thus " became 
him to fulfill all righteousness," or law. as he en- 
tered upon the priestly office. But suppose it to 
be an example, what then ? In the Baptist trans- 
lation of the Xew Testament, we are told, in Matt, 
iii, 13, that Jesus came "to the Jordan to be im- 
mersed," and in verse 16, that, "having been im- 
mersed, he went up immediately from the water." 
This gets rid of that old troublesome preposi- 
tion "out of," as found in the common version, 
for, according to their own translation, he came 
simply to and went from. Xow, supposing we 
arbitrarily substitute the word " sprinkling " for 



John's Baptism Not Immersion. 



127 



"baptism," instead of "immersion," as the Bap- 
tists have, and what a clear case of sprinkling we 
have ! Why not herald forth that Jesus was bap- 
tized by sprinkling, according to our " improved 
translation?" Sow Jesus was baptized we are 
nowhere informed. Dr. "Whedon, in his Com- 
mentary, says: "His coming c out of' the water 
aids us not in guessing hoic, for the preposition 
properly signifies 'from.' Nor, if Jesus waded 
out into and out of the water would it in the least 
aid us in the matter. Thousands in ancient and 
modern times have been baptized by affusion, as 
they are represented in ancient pictures, standing 
or kneeling in the bed of a stream. But at any rate 
the mode of his baptism was such as to make it the 
symbol and picture of the spiritual baptism which 
forthwith descended upon him in dove-like form." 

That John's baptism, whatever its mode, was 
not Christian baptism, is evident from Acts xix, 
1-6. Here Paul found "certain disciples" who 
had been baptized "unto John's baptism," but 
who had not so much as heard of the Holy Ghost 
and belief in Christ. TThen Paul had explained 
to them the temporary character of " John's bap- 
tism," " they were baptized in the name of the 
Lord Jesus." And when Paul had laid his 
hands upon them, they received the Holy Ghost. 



128 



Methodism in the Field. 



" But," says the despairing believer in immersion, 
" does not the Bible inform us that baptism is a 
type of the death, burial, and resurrection of 
Christ ? " No ! a thousand times no ! ! It clearly 
shows that it figures regeneration, or the inward 
washing which is by sprinkling, as says Ezekiel, 
" Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and 
ye shall be clean;" but nowhere does the Bible 
teach the doctrine above claimed. The passages, 
" buried with him by baptism unto death," and 
"buried with him in baptism," clearly signify a 
spiritual condition of the subject, and not an out- 
ward mode. 

But, granting that baptism is the " type of the 
death, burial, and resurrection of Christ," where- 
in does immersion fulfill its conditions ? 1. His 
death. When our Saviour was crucified, his 
blood, pouring from his wounds, " sprinkled " his 
raiment. This was probably the very baptism 
to which he referred when he said, " I have a 
baptism to be baptized with, and how am I 
straightened till it be accomplished ! " Much more 
plausibly, then, is sprinkling the type of Christ's 
death than is immersion. Indeed, at no point 
can the latter typify the death of Christ. 2. His 
burial. It must be remembered that Jesus was 
buried in a sepulcher hewn out of the rock, and 



"Hapto" — Covenant 



129 



not as in a modern grave. How, then, does 
plunging in the water typify a laying away in 
the rock ? There is a mist, or even " much water," 
on the spectacles of that person who discovers the 
slightest resemblance between the two, 3. His 
resurrection. Christ arose of his own accord; 
candidates after being plunged, are raised by 
others. Christ came out of a rocky tomb; candi- 
dates are brought out of the water. Christ was 
in the tomb three days; candidates are lifted out 
of danger as soon as possible. Christ arose in the 
morning; nearly all immersionists baptize in the 
evening. Therefore as a "type of the resurrec- 
tion " of Christ, immersion is no less a failure than 
of his death and burial. 

Thus standard Methodist authors teach, and 
thus most Wesleyans believe. The day is perhaps 
not far distant when immersion, with Methodists, 
will be an obsolete custom. At any rate, there is 
more of a disposition than of old to search out the 
exact significance of words and phrases, the result 
of which already is a demonstration that " bapto *' 
means not only "to dip" an object into a fluid, 
but also "to pour" a fluid over an object. Let this 
spirit of thoughtful investigation prevail through- 
out Christendom, and there will be less sacrifice of 
truth for poetry, of sense for sound, 



130 



Methodism in the Field. 



In receiving Christian baptism candidates take 
the obligation of 

THE BAPTISMAL COVENANT. 

"I renounce the devil and all his works, the 
vain pomp and glory of the world, with all cov- 
etous desires of the same, and the carnal desires 
of the flesh, so that I will not follow nor be led 
by them. I believe in God the Father Almighty, 
Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ 
his only begotten Son our Lord ; and that he was 
conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin 
Mary, that he suffered under Pontius Pilate, was 
crucified, dead and buried, that he rose again the 
third day, that he ascended into heaven and sit- 
teth at the right hand of God the Father Al- 
mighty, and from thence shall come again at the 
end of the world to judge the quick and the dead. 
I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic 
Church,* the communion of saints, the remission 
of sins, the resurrection of the body, and everlast- 
ing life after death. I desire to be baptized in 
this faith, and will then endeavor, God being my 
helper, obediently to keep God's holy will and 
commandments, and to walk in the same all the 
days of my life." 

* The one universal Church of Christ. 



Obligation of Parents. 



131 



Parents of children to be baptized take upon 
themselves the following obligation :— 

" We solemnly engage, so far as in us lies, the 
Lord being our helper, to remember that it is our 
part and duty to see that our children are taught, as 
soon as they shall be able to learn, the nature and 
end of this holy sacrament. And that they may 
know these things the better, we will call upon them 
to give reverent attendance upon the appointed 
means of grace, such as the ministry of the word 
and the public and private worship of God ; and 
further, we will provide that they shall read the 
Holy Scriptures, and learn the Lord's Prayer, the 
Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, the 
Catechism, and all other things which a Christian 
ought to know and believe to his soul's health, in 
order that they may be brought up to lead virtu- 
ous and holy lives, remembering always that bap- 
tism doth represent unto us that inward purity 
which disposeth us to follow the example of our 
Saviour Christ ; that as he died and rose again 
for us, so should we, who are baptized, die unto sin 
and rise again unto righteousness, continually 
mortifying all corrupt affections and daily pro- 
ceeding in all virtue and godliness." 

More than fifty thousand children are annual- 
ly dedicated to God in the Methodist Episcopal 



132 Methodism in the Field. 



Church, and more than sixty thousand adults also 
receive baptism. When, in maturer years, bap- 
tized children formally unite with the Church, they 
publicly assent to the baptismal covenant. " The 
rebaptism of persons known to have been pre- 
viously baptized is inconsistent with the design 
of baptism as set forth in the New Testament." 

Finally, the obligation of Christians to receive 
this sacrament is grounded not only upon positive 
commands to baptize all nations, but upon the 
doctrine of the "Lamb slain from the foundation 
of the world." The blood of Jesus is the "blood 
of sprinkling," and is intended for universal ap- 
plication. Its sign is the application of water in 
the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost. The application of water in this triune 
name is what constitutes Christian baptism. No 
amount of water administered in another name 
would make baptism valid. A person might be 
immersed a thousand times in the name of the 
" sun, moon, and seven stars," and yet not be val- 
idly baptized. But that believer, or child, who 
receives water by any mode in the name of the 
three persons of the Godhead, has so far forth met 
his obligation — has "followed Christ." In this 
particular Methodists claim no novelty of opinion. 
With nine tenths of the Christian world they hold 



Caring for Converts. 



133 



that the spiritual baptism should first be sought ; 
that without this, water baptism has no value ; and 
that with it, water, however applied in the name 
of the Godhead, answers every purpose of a good 
conscience and the demands of Scripture. 

CAKING FOE CONYEETS. 

The number of probationers with clear heads 
and warm, pure hearts actually received into full 
membership would be the most reliable test of the 
efficiency of Christian work. Mere numbers flock- 
ing to the altar during a season of revival may or 
may not be significant of permanently valuable 
service. Too often the work is considered done 
when a long effort closes and the names of proba- 
tioners are placed upon the records. Really, it is 
but just begun. To lead newborn souls forward 
in the way, rejoicing and growing as they go, re- 
quires quite as much attention, zeal, wisdom, toil, 
and concern, as to win them from the world and 
sin at the time of conversion. He is the best 
" evangelist " whose heart is fired with love for 
souls all the year round. His converts will re- 
ceive not only the " sincere milk of the word that 
they may grow thereby," but the " strong meat." 
Without personal solicitation, private counsel, 
and solid public instruction, many probationers 



134 Methodism in the Field. 



will continue in statu quo. and the ecelesiatieal 
shepherd be compelled to report, " Other sheep I 
have which are not of this fold." Usually those 
converts who " summer over " well, through the 
agency of the Church, and enter into the strength- 
ening influences of another religious campaign, 
will make life-long service of it. To this end they 
need the attention of the whole Church. Their 
leaders should know how their souls prosper. 
Stewards should ascertain how fully their pocket- 
books are consecrated. Members at large should 
make them feel that the Church is a society — 
that the best social life is found within her pale. 
The more young members find in the Church 
that which is really attractive and satisfying, the 
more readily will they meet their obligations and 
bear their responsibilities. It should be the aim 
of Christian effort to call into immediate and con- 
stant use all the powers and possessions of new 
religious allies. Satan had them long enough. 
Self has no business with them, save to make the 
most of them in serving God. Putting no esti- 
mate upon Christians who are already in the field, 
if the new converts of a single year should be in- 
strumental in the hands of the blessed Spirit of 
leading as many more to God the next year, and 
this work should continue from year to year, all 



Teaching Converts to Work. 



135 



the new converts doubling their number annually, 
how long would it be ere this nation would be 
Christian, not only in name, but in very deed? 
Suppose twenty-five thousand actual conversions 
result from the labors of all the Churches during 
the year to come, and these converts could be in- 
duced, by prayer and personal effort, to secure the 
salvation of as many more within a year of their 
conversion, each continuing faithful to his cove- 
nant vows, and so the grand activity continue on, 
how soon would these States be won to God ! 
Train the converts, then, to go to work. Let them 
know that they who convert sinners from the error 
of their ways, save souls from death, hide multi- 
tudes of sins, and hasten the coming of the world's 
jubilee. 

ESTABLISHED IN GRACE. 

Whatever may have been the previous life of a 
convert, there should come a time in the religious 
experience when the soul is stayed on God — when 
old propensities no longer have power to sway the 
will. The purpose of the probationary system is 
to afford a sufficient season for the settlement of 
the thoughts in religious channels, and to place 
beyond reasonable doubt, not only the fact of con- 
version, but the probability of life-long service. 

Paul's farewell counsel to the Ephesian breth- 



136 Methodism ix the Field. 



ren, presents a full-length portrait of a vigorous 
and accomplished Christian. " Finally, my breth- 
ren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his 
might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye 
may be able stand against the wiles of the devil. 
, . . Stand therefore, having your loins girt about 
with truth, and having on the breastplate of 
righteousness, and your feet shod with the prepa- 
ration of the gospel of peace ; above all, taking 
the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to 
quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And 
take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the 
Spirit, which is the word of God : praying always 
with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and 
watching thereunto with all perseverance and sup- 
plication for all saints." 

What a picture is this ! Look at the ground- 
work : "in the Lord and in the power of his might ! " 
Look at the expression : strength, stability, truth, 
righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, spirituality, 
prayer, supplication, watchfulness, perseverance ! 
Look at the attitude : " Against the wiles of the 
devil ! " Look at the movement : " Quenching all 
the fiery darts of the wicked," and pleading for 
saintliness ! Look at the furnished panoply : "Ar- 
mor," "breastplate," "girdle," "sandals," "shield," 
" helmet," " sword ! " Look at the inspiring prom- 



Paul's Portrait of a Christian. 



137 



ise emblazoned in the midst ; " Yz shall be able ! " 
O for a million living characters thus endowed ! 
How the desert wastes would bloom ! How the 
waves of mercy would roll ! How the mountains 
of sin would tremble ! TVnat could stand before 
them ? Ambitious America would not only own 
Jesus as the captain of her salvation, but " crown 
him Lord of alL" Haughty Europe would ground 
her arms. Proud old Asia would bow the knee 
to Him whose person she once despised. Poor 
Africa would send from her jungles her sable sons 
to worship before him. The islands of the sea 
would lift up their heads and proclaim, " The 
Lord is come ! " Then could be sung :— 

t; Each, breeze that sweeps the ocean 

Brings tidings from afar, 
Of nations in commotion. 

Prepared for Zion's Trar. n 

The world wants just such men. The Church 
demands them. God's cause needs supporters. 
The moral vineyard calls for workers. Strong, 
diligent, thorough, devoted servants are required 
to meet the emergency. There are too few to 
help ; too many to be helped. The " old soldiers ' ? 
are wearing out, The "new recruits" must have 
vigor, discipline, fidelity. There is nothing, short 
of absolute victory, more inspiring in a battle 



138 



Methodism en the Field. 



scene than to see the contestants u close ranks. w 
The deadly missiles may make wide, bloody gaps 
in the lines, but instantaneously the courageous 
soldiers come together, and ever present a solid 
front to the foe. The apostle had this view before 
him "when he spoke of the struggles of Christians 
in " the evil day," and urges them, i; having done 
all, to stand.*' 

DOING GOOD. 
Candidates for membership in a certain local 
Church are asked whether they prefer to join the 
" honorary,'* or the u working*' department. Other 
societies may not openly follow this plan, but as a 
matter of fact, all have the two classes. A large 
portion of the Christian world hold their relation 
to the Church for any other purpose than work. 
This is wrong. Every person is bound to be do- 
ing good. " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? n 
is the instinctive cry of the heart truly baptized 
with the spirit of Christ. Xo Church has the 
power to excuse members from religious activity. 
The obligation is higher than Church authority. 
The command, " Go work ! *' is imperative. An 
idle or a nominal Christian is a contradiction in 
terms. Service is the proof of faith. St. James 
challenges one specimen of living faith without 
works. To be a Christian in name only is to be 



Doing Good, 



139 



no Christian at all. That man who spends a 
whole life-time in receiving help and rendering 
none, will be too weak at last to go up and pos- 
sess the crown. When business, affliction, or age, 
exempts from some forms of usefulness, others 
are invariably provided. Submission in suffering, 
resignation under the stroke of misfortune, godly 
example in society and at home, kind counsels, 
benevolent deeds, and so on, are ways Christians 
have of doing good according to opportunity. 
Americans are disposed to be more colloquial than 
operative. Intelligence is widely diffused. Al- 
most any boy in the land can make a speech. 
"Women have no lack of tongue. Men can talk 
day and night. The result is seen in burning 
orations and magnificent resolutions spread upon 
the minutes of every assembly. These are well 
enough : but what mighty blows would be struck 
for God if every sententious utterance had its 
counterpart in practical action ! " Be ye doers 
of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving 
your own selves," 

JOYING IN GOD, 

People have just as much religion as they really 
desire. Grace, like air and water, is free. There 
is nothing to hinder those who " hunger and 



140 Methodism in the Field. 



thirst after righteousness " from being "filled." 
Indisposition to partake alone keeps the soul 
empty. God is Trilling to give, but mortals are 
not anxious to receive. Some appear to think 
that too much religion may prove inconvenient. 
Great conscientiousness and complete devotedness 
to Christ are not desirable things with those who 
wish to drive sharp bargains, neglect duty, or 
follow worldly pleasures. Hence the miserable 
compromise between holiness and depravity which 
characterizes the lives of too many professed 
Christians. They betake themselves to religious 
observances because dire necessity compels them. 
They feel that they must do something pious 
or surely forfeit heaven. Heaven at last is the 
goal of all their religious desires. It is not the 
Church on earth, nor spiritual enjoyment, but 
simply the idea of escaping hell and winning 
heaven that prompts them to the slightest show 
of religious practice. 

But religion is something to be enjoyed. It is 
not a galling yoke nor grievous burden which 
Christ places upon his followers. " My yoke is 
ecfsy, and my burden is light" Doing penance is 
no true part of the gospel plan of salvation. "With 
self denied and the cross borne, the consecrated 
soul will enjoy religion. Pity those professors 



u Noisy Religion? 



1-11 



who are dragging out a dull and cheerless spirit- 
ual existence solely for the purpose of being ad- 
mitted to heaven at last. God designs that his 
people should be happy ; " satisfied when they 
awake in his likeness." It is not simply a peri- 
odical flutter in the emotional nature, but a con- 
stant peace, and pure pleasure, and lasting joy, 
springing from the conscious union of the soul 
with Christ, that should be sought. " Happy art 
thou, O Israel. Who is like unto thee, O people 
saved by the Lord?" "Rejoice in the Lord 
always, and again I say, rejoice." Christians 
may join hands and hearts for constant triumph, 
whether in toiling, fighting, watching, lifting, 
praying, singing, sacrificing, or dying. 

Demonstration of joy will take care of itself. 
"When Philip preached Christ in Samaria* there 
was "great joy in that city." The apostolic 
Churches, "walking in the fear of the Lord, and 
the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied." 
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose 
mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in 
thee." Some people object to "noisy" meetings. 
They protest against exercises of " commingled 
groans, sighs, cries, shoutings, and stamping of 
feet and clapping of hands, which drown the 
voice of a praying leader and make every thing 



U2 



Methodism ix the Field. 



rattle and roar, as in a storm." Nevertheless, 
such meetings have often been powerful. When 
the " priests have blown with their trumpets and 
the people have shouted with a great shout," 
many moral Jerichos have been taken. Noise is 
not religion, but stubborn wills must break, and 
hearts of stone dissolve. There come times in re- 
vival efforts, when, if Christians "should hold 
their peace, the very stones would cry out." 

peesoxal eeligion. 

The Gospel is judged by its effects upon char- 
acter as presented in the every day life of its vo- 
taries. Men do not read the Bible to get their 
opinions of religion. There is an easier, though 
not a safer, way. Christian lives are the epistles 
they read, and from this living scripture they ex- 
tract the knowledge which proves " a savor of 
life unto life or of death unto death." Paul un- 
derstood this, hence he sought to renounce " the 
hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craft- 
iness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully;" 
but by manifestation of the truth, commending 
himself to every man's conscience in the sight of 
God. To show what the true Christian spirit is, 
and how it is to be demonstrated day by day and 
hour by hour, he wrote, "We are troubled on 



Personal Religion, 



US 



every side, yet not distressed ; we are perplexed, 
but not in despair ; persecuted, but not forsaken ; 
cast down, but not destroyed ; always bearing 
about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus." 
Happy for the world when every follower of 
Christ shall get this idea of every-day religion so 
fixed in the mind, and so establised in the heart, 
that every word may be uttered with a view to 
making constantly manifest the life of Jesus in 
our mortal flesh. 

When there is a lack of fidelity on the part of 
Christians, it is difficult to reach sinners. The 
most devoted ministers toil in vain if an inconsist- 
ent membership separate them from the objects 
of their ministrations. Pastors are often blamed 
for what they are not responsible for in the matter 
of revivals. In some Churches there are condi- 
tions which completely nullify the most faithful 
pulpit effort. Factions and disputes, rottenness 
and dishonesty in business life, shameful gossip, 
evil surmisings, open slander, make men averse 
to that Christianity which is so falsely repre- 
sented. The world says, "The Methodists are 
no better than other people." This is not true 
in general, but, as says the Discipline, " Personal 
religion is too superficial, family religion is too 
much neglected, and the religion of the Church 



144 Methodism in the Field. 



is not sufficiently deep, universal, uniform. How 
little faith is there among us ! How little com- 
munion with God ! How little living in heaven, 
walking in eternity, deadness to every creature ! 
How much love of the world ! Desire of pleas- 
ure, of ease, of getting money ! How little 
brotherly love ! TThat continual judging one 
another ! " There are societies barren of success 
for years through just such inner influences. It 
were easier to go off on the frontier, where not a 
man professed religion, and conduct a successful 
revival, than with a Church the every day life of 
whose members gives the lie to their profession. 

Some ministers and members are addicted to 
habits which, if not positively inconsistent with a 
religious profession, are derogatory to great use- 
fulness. Reference need not be made to the wine 
question further than to say, that the rule of Dis- 
cipline relating thereto is not sufficiently specific. 
"Cases of e?:treme 'necessity '■- are too easily found, 
without some fixed standard of judgment. There 
is a possibility that fewer premature deaths would 
occur in the world if every drop of alcohol were 
destroyed. TThat is " extreme necessity ? " When 
are Christians justified in drinking " spirituous 
liquors ? " In cases of sickness, how weak ought 
they to become before the stimulant is taken? If 



Wine and Tobacco. 



145 



a physician is to decide this question, he himself 
should be a godly man, or at least a man of tem- 
perance principles. 

The tobacco habit is another curse. Compari- 
sons shall not be made. It shall not be said 
whether it is better or worse than wine drinking. 
Nor shall it be said what form of its use is most 
disgusting. The young " swell," with his costly 
cigar ; the old devotee, with his blackened clay 
pipe ; the chewer, with his mouth stuffed and 
stained ; the snuffer, with his nostrils adrip — are 
alike unprofitable and displeasing. Their breaths 
are tainted, their garments scented, their persons 
polluted, their senses blunted, their nerves shat- 
tered, their blood denied, their digestion dis- 
turbed, their muscles weakened, and their minds 
enslaved. It is computed that 27,000,000 pounds 
of tobacco and 2,000,000,000 cigars are snuffed, 
smoked, or chewed in this country every year. 
One cannot step into the street without scenting 
the trail of the smoker, or having to dodge the 
ejected quid of the chewer. And if all out-doors 
is contaminated, who can picture the foulness 
within? It is feared that Methodists are respon- 
sible for fully their share of this abomination. 
No wonder the General Conference took the fol- 
lowing action, and incorporated it in the Disci- 
10 



U6 



UjIeTHODISM IX THE FlULIU 



pline : " Rtsolctd. That we advise all our minis- 
ters and members to abstain from the use of 
tobacco as injurious to both soul and body. He- 
solved, That we recommend to the Annual Con- 
ferences to require candidates for admission to be 
free from the habit, as hurtful to their acceptabil- 
ity and usefulness among the people." Ah good 
men go to heaven when they die, and it is said 
that some good men use tobacco; but what fol- 
lows. "He that is filthy, let him be filthy still." 
Where, in heaven, will God put the filthy good 
men? How the pure angels would shrink from 
their exhalations ! How horrifying to the glori- 
fied, gre-at pools of spittle staining the gold-paved 
streets ! In some churches placards are hung at 
the entrance — " Gentlemen are requested not to 
indulge in tobacco spitting upon the floor." In 
the Church triumphant will naming posters be 
needed to induce the uhhy good men not to create 
puddles of saliva for the robes of the worshipers 
to drabble in ? But hold ! Gladness fills the 
heart in contemplation of "many mansions" in 
heaven. If only keys are furnished, tobacconists 
may be debarred from some quarters. Endure 
their presence seventy years, then conieth a rest ! 

Financial delinquencies are another drawback 
to the Church and ministry. Unpaid salary 



Fin uncial Del inqiien c ies. 



147 



ances find their counterparts in unsettled clerical 
accounts. There is nothing, short of gross wick- 
edness, which tends more to destroy the confi- 
dence of the world in the genuineness of all re- 
ligious experience than habitual neglect of money 
obligations on the part of professors. It is high 
time for action on this question. A key-note from 
the General Conference might set in play a tune 
which all would join in rendering. It ought to 
extend from one end of the land to the other, and 
fall on the ears of every financial delinquent 
louder than the voices of seven thunders, ade- 
quately to arouse this class from their delusive 
dreams. A law requiring all unsettled accounts 
of a previous conference year, whether of Church 
or pastor, to be gathered up and presented at 
Conference for investigation, would be whole- 
some. By such a rule unavoidable delinquency 
could be exonerated, while willful neglect or open 
dishonesty could be ferreted out, and reproved 
or punished as the Discipline provides. 

In this age people have run wild on the amuse- 
ment question. Nearly all classes and characters 
have caught the fever, and some have been en- 
tirely prostrated by it. Dancing, playing at 
games of chance, theater-going, horse-racing, cir- 
cus-patronizing, the walking-mania, and other ob~ 



148 



Methodism en the Field. 



viously misleading practices, have not only con- 
taminated the public mind, but led to acts of 
disobedience to the order and discipline of the 
Church. That there are harmless amusements 
cannot be successfully denied. The babe may 
have a rattle-box, the boy a ball, the girl a doll, 
and grown people innocent diversions; but those 
amusements of questionably moral associations 
and tendency ought to be strictly discarded. 

Personal religion should induce the utmost cir- 
cumspection. Watchfulness ought to be the at- 
titude of the mind, and prayer the spirit of the 
heart. Business, pleasure, society, care, need 
not banish devotion or vigilance. Luther said, 
" Prayer is the Christian's trade : if he drive that 
business well, he shall thrive." But prayer is no 
more the Christian's business than paying his 
debts, living peaceably, soberly, and attending to 
other religious duties. Religion is a life, a spirit. 
As manifested by its professors every day it is 
called "personal.' 3 The thirteenth chapter of First 
Corinthians is a good presentation of some phases 
of its personal manifestation. It requires men to 
be kind, not easily provoked, not to behave un- 
seemly, and not to rejoice in iniquity. The essence 
of religion should enter into and control all human 
relations, and sanctify all to God. 



Perfecting Holiness. 



149 



PEKFECTDsG HOLINESS. 

Christian Perfection is a fundamental doctrine 
of Methodism. Indeed, it is the first distinctive 
tenet of the TTesleys. Hear their words: "In 
1729 two young men in England, reading the 
Bible, saw they could not be saved without holi- 
ness: followed after it, and incited others so to do. 
In 1737 they saw, likewise, that men are justified 
before they are sanctified: but still holiness was 
their object. God then thrust them out to raise 
a holy people." 

The Discipline abounds with incitements to holi- 
ness. Methodist theology is full of reasonings 
upon the question. Itinerant ministers solemnly 
declare, not onlv that thev are " groaning after " 
the experience of holiness, but that they " expect 
to be made perfect in love in this life," and that 
they are "going on to perfection." Holiness 
forms the theme of sermons, essays, pamphlets, 
and books almost without number. 

And the discussions, of late, have differed very 
materially from those of other years. TVhen 
Mr. "Wesley first began to preach the doctrine of 
Christian perfection both the preacher and the 
truth were assailed. After preaching it thirty 
years, he wrote : " God hath .continued to confirm 



150 Methodism m the Field. 



the word of his grace. But. during this time, 
well-nigh all the religious world hath set them- 
selves in array against me; and, among the rest, 
many of my own children, following the example 
of one of my eldest sons, Mr. W« The general 
cry has been, 6 He is preaching another gospel.' " 

Now, the doctrine of holiness is rarely antag- 
onized. Nearly all orthodox Churches hold to 
it under some name. Such terms as " Entire con- 
secration," and " full assurance of faith," are pre- 
ferred by many as less objectionable expressions 
than " perfection," " entire sanctification," etc. 
But it may be remarked that the whole Methodist 
phraseology of this doctrine is based upon God's 
own words. " Sanctify you wholly? " Perfect 
love casteth out fear? "Be ye holy? " Let us 
cleanse ourselves from all f.lth'irtess of the flesh 
and of the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of 
God? 

Likewise the theories of holiness are variously 
questioned, no one having universal adoption ; 
but the fact itself, that Christians are to " follow 
after holiness, without which no man shall see the 
Lord," clings to the faith of all. And it is be- 
lieved that more persons would be living in the 
enjoyment of this blessing to-day had less atten- 
tion been given to the how of setting it, and more 



Bid Wesley Profess to be Holy? 151 



to the immediate necessity of having it. " Where 
there's a will there's a way." Individual experi- 
ence in reaching the higher life is generally unique, 
and not calculated to be an example to others. 

It is also believed that the spirit manifested by 
some of the more zealous advocates of this doc- 
trine has been a hinderance to its progress. They 
have cherished their own peculiar conditions of 
mind as of wonderful value, like some patentees 
who urge that their inventions merit both patents 
and patronage, and seek to monopolize the trade. 
Such persons have shown great nervousness under 
interrogation, and sensitiveness under criticism, 
both of which may have been interpreted as an- 
ger, and proof of error. 

The question has been raised whether Mr. 
Wesley professed to be holy. A quotation* from 
one of his letters is sufficient proof that he was 
not so inconsistent as to urge a blessing as neces- 
sary and available to others, and yet remain with 
no profession of it himself. In 1771 he wrote : 
" Many years ago I saw, that without holiness no 
man shall see the Lord. I began following after 
it, and inciting others to do the same. Ten 
years after God gave me clearer views than I had 
before of the way how to obtain this; namely, by 
faith in the Son of God. And immediately I de- 



152 



Methodism ra the Field. 



clared to all, 6 We are saved by faith.' This I 
testified in public and private, in print ; and God 
confirmed it by a thousand witnesses." 

The remark is often heard, "Methodist preach- 
ers are not all sanctified, and yet they are under 
solemn vows in reference thereto. TThat is the 
reason ?" Answer: Possibly there are sortie "un- 
just judges " in the world ; yet many ministers 
may not be " groaning after " perfect love as 
deeply and earnestly as they ought to be. 

Three or four things are beyond doubt. 

First. The blessing of holiness is not natural to 
man. It is derived from God. " We are made 
partakers of his holiness." 

Second. There must be a time when souls enter 
into the enjoyment of this blessing, else none " see 
the Lord." 

Third. The doctrine is scriptural, hence the 
blessing attainable. Passages need not be further 
cited in proof of this position. 

Fourth. Those who profess to enjoy holiness 
as an experience, testify that its reception was 
preceded by acts of consecration and trust, either 
general or specific. 

Fifth. The idea of perfect love, or a spiritual 
state in which love rules both the heart and life, 
in which the " roots of bitterness " and " deeds of 



Holiness Demands Attention, 



153 



sin " are removed, and in which the soul has a 
greater capacity for usefulness, is "both whole- 
some and attractive. 

Let it, then, be concluded : What man does 
not enjoy, yet, if saved at last, mmt enjoy — what 
is taught in the Scripture and realized in Chris- 
tian experience — what is rich in value, fruit, and 
comfort, and can be had through faith in Christ — 
ought at once to engage the earnest attention of all 
mankind, especially of those who believe and teach 
it. " Create in me a clean heart,*' cried one of 
old. In this busy, noisy, sorrowing, suffering, 
sinful world, what a precious thought it is that 
the soul may rest perfectly in Christ : the con- 
science void of offense ; the hatred of sin and the 
love of the sinner constant ; the temper and pas- 
sions subdued ; the imagination under control-; the 
intellectual, moral, and physical powers used in 
the promotion of piety ; and the whole spirit a 
well-spring of comfort and blessing. 

Let holiness be perfected. To this end Church 
ordinances were established, the ministry com- 
missioned, the Bible given, the Spirit sent into 
the world, and the Son of God made a sacrifice. 
'•'His blood cleanseth from all sin." "'"Whoso 
keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God 
perfected.'* God's time is "now." His command, 



15-i Methodism in the Field. 



" Be ye holy ! " His promise, " I will cleanse you." 
His invitation, " Come ye to the waters." His 
condition, "Purify your hearts." His token, 
"Bring thy gift to the altar." 

" Be it according to thy word; 

Redeem me from all sin! 
My heart would now receive thee, Lord; 

Come in, my Lord, come in ! " 

HOME LIFE. 

Home life sustains a very important relation to 
the Christian religion. Not more than eio;ht 
hours in the week are devoted to public or social 
religious service. The large balance of time is 
spent at home or in connection with home interests. 
The life here, therefore, must tell largely upon 
Christian character. 

When George TVnitefield was asked whether a 
specified individual were a Christian, he replied, 
" How should I know ? I never lived with him." 
Mr. TVnitefield knew that a man's bearing in the 
midst of domestic relations and intimacies is an 
unfailing test of his piety. It is easy in public to 
make a profession ; it is just as easy to belie that 
profession in private. It is one thing to say in 
church, " I love the Lord and his people ; " it is 
another thing to manifest that love in the intimate 



Home Life. 



155 



associations of home. The one is important, the 
other is indispensable, to the Christian life. 

What should characterize religions home life ? 
First, true affection. The husband should love 
the wife and the wife the husband. This love 
should be genuine and fervent. Where true love 
abounds with the parents, the children will love 
each other, and father and mother, too. And 
what is more beautiful than such a family? 
Wealth and position may not abound, but such a 
domestic institution remains " a thing of beauty 
and a joy forever." 

On the other hand, what is more unpleasant 
than family brawls ? What arrests prosperity, 
strikes down comfort, drives away happiness, and 
destroys influence, more quickly than wars of 
words between husband and wife or parent' and 
child ? Riches, worldly exaltation, and intel- 
lectual endowment may be there, and for a time 
hold together the circle of ostensible friendship, 
but the Holy Dove will fly from their assemblies, 
the sweet form of religion will vanish, and all 
that was lovely, and pure, and beautiful, will ulti- 
mately disappear. 

Second, a good degree of culture. Parents 
should speak properly and bear themselves grace- 
fully before their children. Children should be 



156 Methodism in the Field. 



so trained as to act the part of gentlemen and 
ladies both at home and abroad. The whole fam- 
ily should be regarded in the community as an 
example of civility, order, mental discipline, and 
piety. If the circumstances will afford college 
drill and instruction so much the better, provided 
these do not transform civility into coldness, order 
into stiffness, and discipline into censoriousness, 
of which there is little danger. 

Third, the inmates of a home should understand 
each other and each other's plans. The wife 
should know her husband's circumstances, and, 
with proper restrictions, so should the children. 
If the financial or other circumstances are pecul- 
iar, so as to excite comment and inquiry in the 
neighborhood, each member, from oldest to 
youngest, should know what is proper and right 
to say. In social affairs and secular pursuits 
there should be a unity of interest and effort. 
It is usually only a question of time, whether 
such a family shall secure an abundant compe- 
tence. Wealth is desirable if rightly gotten and 
worthily used. Influence is not to be lightly 
esteemed. These, and all other good things, are, 
in some measure, within the reach of every well- 
ordered Christian home. 

Especially should families have in view the 



Family Prayer, 



157 



reunion of kindred spirits in the home of the soul. 
There is no sweeter thought than that of meeting 
and recognizing friends in heaven. Happy for 
fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, children, broth- 
ers and sisters, if, when they pass from each 
other's embrace on earth, their reunion before 
the throne is sure. Though in heaven they are 
" neither married nor given in marriage," the 
spirit of pure love will bind intimate friends more 
closely in the great family on high. The best 
way to anticipate reunion in heaven is to cherish 
the heavenly spirit on earth. Let the home of 
the body be a little heaven for the soul. There 
are families which " call not on the name of the 
Lord." Unlike David, the fathers do not return 
to " bless their households." Unlike Joshua, they 
do not say, " As for me and my house, we* will 
serve the Lord." " Give us this day our daily 
bread," is a prayer not offered daily by such. 
Do they bring up their children "in the nurture 
and admonition of the Lord," when they never 
pray with them ? It was Mr. J ay who said, " A 
family without prayer is like a house without a 
roof — it has no protection." 



158 Methobjsm pr the Field. 



STODAY-SCHOOLS. 

Christians cannot afford to neglect the Sunday- 
school. Many Church members seem to think 
that the Sunday-school department is a kind of 
" baby institution/' and its labors children's play, 
or at best, nursery work, fit only for women and 
tender people to perform. Xot so. It is the most 
important branch of Church work, taking into con- 
sideration the coming time. When those who are 
now attending the class-meetings, and holding 
the responsible relations, shall be sleeping their 
long sleep, these tender blades will have grown 
into the sturdy stock, holding strong the founda- 
tions of Zion, and making the pillars of supersti- 
tion tremble. How important that parents be in 
the Sunday-school, watching over their children, 
and contributing to the interest and funds of the 
school ! How important that the pastor be there, 
with his eye upon the teachers to see that they be 

suitable " persons ; and upon the library, to see 
that the books are of a proper character ; and 
standing shoulder to shoulder with the superin- 
tendent to make this branch of the Church the 
certain germ of future power and magnitude ! 

By rule of Discipline, ( rr 96, 98, 175. 245, 
249, 250, 251.) it will be seen that the Methodist 



Methodist Sunday-schools. 



159 



policy is to keep this rapidly developing arm of 
power under the complete control of the pastorate 
and officiary. This is well. Those who are 
never found in the Sunday-school not only lose 
a valuable religious privilege, but directly antag- 
onize the spirit of Methodism and the rules of 
Discipline. They are also dangerously neglectful. 
How frequently Methodist Sunday-schools are or- 
ganized on a different basis from that contem- 
plated above, let the reader answer. Popular elec- 
tions on Sunday place many unfit superintendents 
in office, and arbitrary appointment gives many, 
very many, teachers ill adapted to the work 
free access to the impressible mind of childhood. 
Schools officered after such a manner are not the 
ones likely to be nurseries for the Church, or 
training schools for the children for future 'serv- 
ice in the Methodist army. Let pastor and people 
attend to this business ! 



CAMP-MEETINGS. 

No matter where located, the camp-ground is 
hallowed to the individual hearts which have 
worshiped there. Many places thus consecrated 
are dear to only a few survivors, the tent and the 
altar having long ago disappeared, and nothing 



160 Methodism in the Field. 



remaining to mark them to the people of this 
generation. 

Camp-meetings are profitable religiously, inas- 
much as they are held at a time when no special 
efforts are put forth in the churches. They are 
advantageous, also, for representatives of various 
charges to meet together for worship. Nor do 
ministers lose any thing by such associations dur- 
ing one week of the year. Opportunity is thus 
afforded for mutual edification by the use of such 
methods and thoughts as have been most helpful 
in their respective fields. 

It is often argued that in these days, when 
churches are so commodious and numerous, it is 
not necessary to go to the woods to worship; and 
the meager spiritual results of modern camp-meet- 
ings are paraded as evidence that they are no 
longer profitable. These observations have some 
force, but there are contrary considerations. The 
practice of holding camp-meetings in one locality, 
year after year, is a poor one. " Summer resorts " 
should be permanent, in order that the expendi- 
ture of money may render them convenient and 
attractive. But camp-meetings proper ought to 
be held in communities which are least favored 
with religious privileges. Cloth tents, or portable 
board tents, should alone be constructed. The 



Vamp -Meetings. 



161 



meeting should not be held more than two or 
three years consecutively in the same place. A 
regular Church ought to he organized within that 
time. 

There is territory enough in one presiding el- 
der's district for four camp-meetings. So there 
are preachers enough to conduct them. Four or 
fire are plenty for one meeting. This having as 
many speakers as there are services during a 
whole camp-meeting is more convenient than ad- 
vantageous. Besides preaching " once around/' 
they are liable to occupy time in every service 
which timid professors should have. Moreover, 
the preaching of two or three in regular succes- 
sion is more likely to be effective than the too 
frequent " star-shooting " of twenty-five, who have 
only one " chance " apiece. What pastor would 
expect success in a revival effort at home if a 
new occupant for his pulpit should present him- 
self at every service. The wonder is. that camp- 
meetings, under such circumstances, have been at 
ail successful. 

These remarks are intended in no spirit of crit- 
icism upon time-honored methods, but simply to 
suggest a way for greater present usefulness. Let 
camp-meetings be kept within their original de- 
sign, whatever ideas may govern more pleasurable 
11 



162 Methodism en the Field. 



gatherings. The work of saving souls can never 
be made a pastime. "Modern improvements 75 
are no helps in bringing souls, soundly converted, 
into the kingdom of God. 

UNION MEETINGS. 

Evangelical Churches can profitably unite in 
holding occasional religious meetings. They are 
thus brought into greater harmony of feeling, 
which intensifies their own spirituality, and makes 
a good impression upon the world. Favorable 
occasions for union services are presented in 
thanksgivings, watchnights, etc. 

It is customary in some localities for several 
denominations to unite in conducting revival 
meetings. Most of the so-called evangelists in- 
sist on union efforts. They also ask pastors and 
societies to remove all the stumbling-blocks, ad- 
just all the disputes, and create a general interest, 
before they arrive, When these conditions are 
met the help of evangelists is unnecessary. 

Union meetings as to time are decidedly advan- 
tageous. Simultaneous combination against Satan 
and his allies arrests public attention and inspires 
faith. It also furnishes curious folks in the churches 
with something to think of at home. There may 
be times when Churches can unite their congre- 



Union Meetings, 



163 



gations advantageously. It would be a strange 
rule that had no exceptions. A few pastors and 
societies are stronger when they brace each other 
up. But, on general principles, it may be affirmed 
that union revival meetings as to place are of 
questionable expediency. The mission of every 
Church is to save souls. Unless it can be shown 
that permanent amalgamation of all Churches 
would save more souls, it will be hard to prove 
that more can be saved by all gathering under one 
roof for a few weeks of special labor. There are 
serious objections to such a course. The uniting 
pastors and leading members will naturally mo- 
nopolize the time, excluding those who specially 
need the privileges. Even these leaders will be 
idle much of the time. There is not room in an 
ordinary church building to hold the crowds ,' and 
the erection of tabernacles for such purposes in- 
volves an outlay of money which would be better 
used in paying off debts on permanent places of 
worship. Union meetings frequently break up 
with an " unpleasantness " which counteracts the 
good accomplished. The total results are not 
likely to be so great or permanent as if all the 
people had gathered under their own "vine and 
fig-tree," to work in their own way with those es- 
pecially inclined toward their respective doctrines 



164 



Methodism ln~ the Field. 



and usages. The division of converts throws 
many of them into strange places and amid new 
associations. The warm atmosphere of the revival 
is displaced by the chill of denominational senti- 
ment which had been suppressed during the meet- 
ings. If there are favorable conditions which out- 
weigh these objections to customary union revival 
meetings, they have not come under the writer's 
observation. 

But whence comes all this zeal for union meet- 
ings ? Does it spring from the Church which has 
made revival efforts a means of progress for more 
than a century, or from those who speak and act 
as if revivals were the inventions of the last de- 
cade? Calvinistic Churches are just waking up 
to the thought, that if the world is ever evangel- 
ized it will be through human agency as well as 
the " divine will.' 5 Methodist history is permeated 
with this idea, and it is simply just that those to 
whom revival methods are a novelty should en- 
gage in revivals on old battle-grounds, or else en- 
deavor to kindle fires of their own. 

Some few are gracious enough to make a con- 
cession in this direction. Xot long since a relig- 
ions paper of a sister Church declared: u The 
prospect now is, we shall all be returning to Meth- 
odism as to a good stout ship that will hold all 



A Good Concession. 



165 



and sail well. . . . The great Baptist Church of 
Spurgeon, the great Presbyterian Churches of Tal- 
ma £e and Curler, the great revivals of Moody 
and Phillips, the one with prayer the other with 
song, these are all founded upon the Wesleyan 
idea, and carried forward in the Methodist method. 
At last, inasmuch as it is notorious that however 
large the army may be of Calvinists in theory, it 
is for the most part the Arminian theology that 
they preach, we may as well confess that after 
a hundred and fifty years of toil the Methodist 
flag flies pretty high and bright, and looks down 
upon an empire whose foundations are at least its 
own. The ideas of Wesley are now both the 
creed and practice of evangelical Churches of the 
Old and Xew world." 

CLASS -MEETINGS. 

Much attention has been paid to these primary 
organizations of Methodism. And truly their de- 
sign is of the utmost significance to the cause of 
Christ. The spiritual oversight they contemplate 
may effectively reach every member of the Church. 
The character of their observance may supply all 
instruction, encouragement, and admonition neces- 
sary for the most general and rapid religious 
advancement. The class-meeting is too good a 



166 Methodism the Field, 



service to be neglected. Methodists stand in their 
own light, when they allow the power of this 
means of grace to wane. The first requisite to its 
highest efficiency is, that all attend. Not more 
than twelve or fifteen persons should meet in one 
room at the same time. Adaptation should be 
studied in classification. The leader should be a 
person in whom all have the utmost confidence. 
He should "inquire how their souls prosper," 
provided their testimonies do not voluntarily 
contain the desired information. Probe to the 
bottom, carefully and thoroughly. Every im- 
proper leader should be removed. No person 
should be permitted to hold a class-book for one 
hour who is defective in morals or other qualifica- 
tions. Competency in a leader is the result of 
thorough study of the Bible and of Methodist lit- 
erature. Constancy in the members is largely the 
result of ability and worthiness in the leader. 
Let the " ax be laid at the root of the tree." The 
class-meeting should be very social. The intimacy 
of friendly society should there be sought. The 
" man-fearing spirit " should be driven away, and 
the woman-fearing spirit also. Formality should 
be broken with sledge-hammer blows, that is 3 so as 
never to return. 



Prayer- Meetings, 167 



PK A YEK - MEETINGS. 

Penitents in London desired Mr. Wesley to spend 
some time with them in prayer and religious con- 
versation. To provide opportunity for this pur- 
pose he appointed a day when they might all come 
together ; which " from thenceforward they did 
every week, namely, on Thursday, in the evening." 

It has been said that the root of a Church lies 
not in the pulpit but in the prayer-meeting. There 
is the place to water the vine of the Lord's plant- 
ing, and very soon the branches will be loaded 
with the fruits of the Spirit. 

How often prayer-meetings degenerate into a 
worthless form ! This is generally true where six 
or eight "keep up" a service which should.be 
shared by a hundred. When the affections are 
languid, devotion loses its spirit. In such a state 
Christians 16 ask, and have not, because they ask 
amiss." Sinners look on and say, "Who is the 
Lord that I should serve him, or what profit shall 
I have if I pray unto him ? " 

Leaders of prayer-meetings should qualify them- 
selves, not to display their ability, but to draw 
out the resources of worshipers. Prayer-meetings 
belong to the people. They should be sustained 
by the people. Vigorous, spirited, pointed pray- 



168 Methodism m the Field. 



ing should be brought out. Timid beginners 
should have encouragement. A few broken utter- 
ances, pouring from a heart newly allied to Christ, 
never fail to give zest to a service. All the 
prayers need to be simple, natural, and sensible. 
Ministers should not always lead the prayer-meet- 
ing, but they should call out the company to be 
led, as far as fresh and full announcements from 
the pulpit will accomplish such a purpose. 

SOCIAL MEETINGS— A WANT. 

Originality of expression is a desideratum in 
social religious meetings. There is too much 
sameness in the mass of Christian testimony. Re- 
ligious life is diversified ; so ought its representa- 
tion to be. True, all Christians are saved from a 
common disease by virtue of a common remedy, 
and are thus brought into a common condition of 
spiritual health ; but the variety of experience 
still obtains, and sameness of testimony is a con- 
tradiction, especially in class-meetings, where par- 
ticular, and not general, experiences are supposed 
to be related. 

Uniformity of religious expression is largely 
attributable to the notion that to be a Christian 
one must be like others. Every thing in nature 
antagonizes this idea. There are resemblances in 



Discharging Duties Promptly. 169 



the natural world, but no perfect reproductions. 
The millions of forest leaves are all various. So 
with the blades of grass, the fragrant and beauti- 
ful flowers, and the pebbles on the ocean strand. 
So in human life. No two persons are exactly 
alike in constitution or appearance. In all God's 
works there is wonderful variety, the experience 
of human hearts being no exception. Now to rack 
all that Christian hearts feel into a few forms of 
expression is not only contrary to God's order, but 
calculated to deceive. The same faith that saved 
St. Paul saved St. James — the faith that worketh 
by love — but how differently they represent it. 
So let it be with all Christians, each giving his 
peculiar experience in his own language for the 
edification of the Church. 

To argue that the majority of Christian people 
cannot be original in experience is a reflection 
upon American intelligence. It is also false in 
fact. In business life these persons talk what they 
mean. So in social circles. Originality argues 
the people's capability everywhere save in some 
religious gatherings. There, a careless use of set 
phrases, whether traditional, hereditary, or con- 
tagious, no one can tell, prompts many a listener 
to wonder whether there really is such a thing as 
a peculiar experience. 



170 Methodism in the Field. 



Another desideratum in social religious meetings 
is, promptness in speaking, singing, or praying. 
How saddening that long pause ! How complete 
Satan's opportunity to suggest unworthy thoughts! 
The spirit of a whole service is often spoiled by 
hesitancy in duty. Let us imagine such a service. 
The leader calls for testimonies. Xo one responds, 
and a song is sung. Then somebody speaks. 
Then another pause. You look around, and on 
your left is a good brother with grave countenance, 
closed eyes, fixed position, and an apparent un- 
consciousness of all obligations upon him, as if 
he had no part nor lot in the matter. Not far off 
is a sister gazing upon the beauty of some other 
person's apparel, or waiting for a more seasonable 
moment in which to represent her case. Another 
person is evidently thoughtful, and if time is al- 
lowed, the audience will hear from that source a 
studied speech. The idea of a person knowing 
Christ and yet having to study up something to 
say of him ! experiencing now the cleansing blood, 
and yet searching in the regions of the intellect 
for a testimony ! If there must be long premedi- 
tation, let it take place at home. 

Another desldtratum is the narration of fresh 
experience. Xo one objects, at proper times, to 
the narration of " early 55 experience, but the idea 



Experience from the Heart. 171 

of having to go back a quarter of a century to get 
a bit of spiritual fact to offer as evidence of a 
present salvation is preposterous. But it is urged 
that religion the world over is the " old, old story 
of Jesus and his love." Just so ! But it is not 
the " old, old story " of selfishness and sin. " Jesus 
and his love " are living realities. The story is 
old because the oldest Christian of all time "was 
saved by faith in the promised Messiah. The 
heart in which Christ dwells is a fountain of emo- 
tion, principle, faith, and affection, needing only 
to be touched by opportunity to send forth streams 
of living experience. Hence Jesus said, " Out of 
the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." 
And here is the secret of all impressive testimony 
— a deep, conscious, fervent, and all-absorbing 
experience. AYhen the soul is filled with God 
there is no lack of rich thought and happy ex- 
pressions, whether the testimony be in the form 
of a tearful eye, a beaming countenance, or elo- 
quent words. Let the soul be empty, and no 
mere intellectual process can supply the deficiency. 
One expression of a living feeling is worth more 
than a beautiful recitation of fifteen minutes. In 
social meetings the flow of sympathy is between 
heart and heart, rather than between mind and 
mind.. Intellectual exercise is desirable., but it 



172 Methodism in the Field. 

will not avail in the absence of a genuine current 
of piety. Christ in the heart as the regenerator, 
sanctifier, comforter, enlightener, energizer, and di- 
rector, will give a mine of experience out of which 
will come treasures of testimony to enrich the 
world. 

QUAETEELY MEETINGS. 

The quarterly meeting was once a great occa- 
sion among the Societies. As its name implies, it 
was held every three months, and was attended 
by the presiding elder of the district and the 
people of the several appointments which then 
formed a circuit. In those days there were only 
so many charges in a district as the presiding 
elder could visit four times a year to hold the 
quarterly conferences and Sabbath services. The 
Church has gradually drifted away from this 
landmark until districts now contain an average 
of twenty-three-and-one-half charges, or nearly 
twice as many as there are Sabbaths in a quarter. 
It is not strange that this change should have 
taken place. The usages of Methodism were 
ever grounded in necessity. When the traveling 
preachers were strangers in a strange land, many 
of them not ordained, and opposed by both the 
" learning and piety of the age," the presence of 
the " giants in those days " was a means of won- 



Old-time Interest. 



173 



derful encouragement and practical usefulness. 
But when the preachers in charge became the 
equals of the presiding elder in culture, author- 
ity, and experience, rendering small districts no 
longer a necessity, they were by common con- 
sent enlarged. 

Reason, also, has been an ingredient in this 
movement. The conclusion has been quite gen- 
erally reached, that as most pastors can administer 
the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper, 
and also preside in the quarterly conferences and 
hold the Sabbath services, and as their pay goes 
on whether the presiding elder is present or ab- 
sent, and as the enlargement of the districts re- 
duces the presiding elder's claim on each charge, 
and as the essential value of the presiding elder- 
ship as a part of the great supervisory system 
and a condition of the perpetuation of the itiner- 
ancy can thus be retained, the multiplication of 
charges is decidedly advisable. So far has this 
idea prevailed, that in some of the older confer- 
ences a single district has from forty to sixty 
charges. 

With the passing away of the old arrangement 
went also much of the old interest, until the abol- 
ishment of quarterly meetings has even been sug- 
gested, "An elder's business," says a writer, 



174 Methodism in the Field. 



" should be to supervise. Preaching was once 
an important item ; it is no longer so. The elder 
should travel, like a bishop, from station to sta- 
tion, holding his quarterly conferences evening 
after evening, and preaching where he happens 
to be on Sunday, and always, if possible, in some 
place where he is specially needed, and does not 
displace the regular minister. There is no use of 
keeping up a quarterly system out of which all 
the quarterly elements have long since died." * 

But it should be remembered that the change 
above indicated is in practice, not in theory ; in 
the subject, not in the law. The disciplinary 
forms and requirements respecting quarterly meet- 
ings are pretty much the same as ever, and we 
can but believe that to keep these rules, not mend 
them, would still render quarterly meetings of 
great service to the Church. Surely the business 
of a pastoral charge ought to be brought under 
quarterly consideration. The Lord's supper should 
also be celebrated as often as four times a year. 
The "love-feast 55 may be made a power for good. 
The ticket system has many things to recommend 
it to favor. The pastor is required to renew the 
tickets quarterly. Thus the standing of each 
member is brought to his attention, and makes 
* Ladies' Repository, vol. xxxv, p. 284. 



The Quarterly Love-feast, 



175 



occasion for stirring up the .people's minds by 
way of remembrance, TThen the participants 
have all entered, and the doors are shut, the serv- 
ice goes on without disturbance from new arri- 
vals, and amid the flow of song, the rising of 
prayer, the form of fellowship, and the narration 
of experience, the spirituality may become in- 
tense. Then the rendering of pastors', leaders', 
and stewards' reports, and calling for baptisms, 
letters of Church membership, etc., may make the 
service in the highest degree profitable, The sug- 
gestion in reference to tickets is not made as for 
the revival of an old custom, but for the enforce- 
ment of a standing rule, There it is on the law- 
book of Methodism, awaiting spirited administra- 
tion to become a living power. 

EEGULAE PUBLIC SEE VICES. 

This is styled a progressive age, but it is an 
age in which great carefulness is needed in dis- 
tinguishing between true progress and novelty, or 
mere experiment. There is a marked drifting of 
religious sentiment and usages toward those of 
the world, Possibly there has been in outside 
circles a reciprocal feeling, bringing the world 
somewhat nearer to the spirit of the Church : 
at any rate there is less dissimilarity between 



176 Methodism m the Field. 



the lives of professed saints and non-professing 
sinners. 

In all departments of life people are looking 
out for something new. In business affairs, no 
less than in business "push," every passing event 
and popular gathering are made the opportu- 
nities for the realization of profit and production 
of effect. The worst feature of this practice is, 
its tendency to render insignificant regular order 
and effort. 

Such a result is deplorable. The established 
methods of Christian work should not be allowed 
to prove of none effect. Strange customs should 
be resorted to only when ordinary means fail. 
Having but a passing popularity, they can never 
compensate for the loss of permanent interest and 
effectiveness in time-honored observances. 

If the regular services of the Church are not in 
keeping with the just demands of the hour they 
should be made so, and then used with the utmost 
energy for the accomplishment of good. " Tab- 
ernacle meetings," " Sunday afternoon lectures," 
" Union services," and the like, may have a charm- 
ing sound and a transitory attraction, but they 
are well calculated to destroy the potency of 
stated Church services. 

Why not expect conversions from regular ef- 



Conversion in Public Sere ices. 



177 



forts ? Why should not public Sabbath services 
be "revival meetings?" Why should not all ser- 
mons be calculated to awaken sinners and arouse 
professors, and be followed by stirring invita- 
tions to the altar ? Is there any thing incon- 
gruous in kneeling beside weeping penitents on 
Sunday morning to point them to the "Lamb of 
God, which taketh away the sin of the world ? " 
Not that special efforts should be put forth less, 
but that largely attended regular services should 
be depended on more. The world should not 
have the slightest cause to infer that Christians 
are interested in the conversion of souls only 
when agonizing efforts are put forth once a year 
to capture them. There are reasons for believing 
that many unconverted persons would be so im- 
pressed by an unexpected practical appeal in the 
public services that it would lead to seriousness 
of mind and newness of heart. If the tens of 
thousands of congregations in the United States 
would transform their hundreds of thousands of 
public religious meetings every year into unyield- 
ing and unsparing efforts to save souls, the land 
would be ablaze with perpetual revival fire. 

The public services of the sanctuary may be 
made more interesting by full compliance with 

the recommendations of the Discipline. Let the 

12 



178 Methodism in the Field. 

hymns be proper for the occasion, and not too 
long. Let the times be suited to the sentiment, 
and sung spiritedly. The society should give at- 
tention to the cultivation of sacred music. Let 
all the people unite in singing, not one in ten 
only. During prayer let all the people kneel, ac- 
cording to the scripture attitude, and join in the 
repetition of the Lord's prayer. No wonder some 
public services have no power in them. The 
people, as a whole, take no part in them. They 
suffer two or three to do their worshiping in song. 
If they join in prayer, they at least stolidly as- 
sume the laziest attitude — that of sitting still. To 
some the ringing of the last bell is the first real 
warning for attendance; the announcement of the 
text, a good notice to enter; the taking of the col- 
lection, a fair occasion for indifference; and the 
gesture for the benediction, a special signal for 
the seizure of hats, overcoats, outer shawls, and 
umbrellas. The preacher in charge, aided by the 
committee on worship, would do well to "regu- 
late such matters." 

CHEISTIAX BURIAL SERVICES. 

It is proper that regard for the bodies of our 
dead should have occasion for suitable expression. 
For this purpose a Christian burial service is 



Christian Burial Services. 



179 



highly appropriate. But caution is necessary lest 
this fitting tribute degenerate into mere mock 
parade. It is probable that Methodist ministers 
officiate at more funerals than those of any other 
denomination. Their circuits embrace almost 
every rural district and city ward. The usages 
of Methodists on such occasions must, therefore, 
greatly influence the general custom. 

Sunday funerals ought, as far as possible, to be 
avoided. The regular services on that day are a 
sufficient tax upon time and strength. Besides, 
the rabble is then let loose, and the funeral train 
is composed of a heartless, motley crowd. The 
custom of exposing the corpse to public view is 
also objectionable. A careless company surge 
around, and, in some cases, carry away the mem- 
ory of a ghastly countenance, or inhalations which 
endanger life. Relatives should take their fare- 
well alone, and invariably before the beginning 
of the obsequies. 

Save with persons of distinction, whose deaths 
occasion wide-spread interest, private funerals 
should be held. In most cases the house in which 
a person dies is large enough to accommodate all 
who would attend the funeral from a feeling of 
real sympathy. Here let relatives and friends 
gather to be led by the pastor in such exercises 



180 



Methodism in the Field. 



as are appropriate to the character of the loved 
one who has surrendered life. 

Funerals are for the benefit of the living. The 
more practical and intimate the services, the more 
effective are they in doing good. The solemn 
melody, the friendly address, the earnest prayer, 
the sympathetic greeting, the mingling of tears, 
all having personal application in the mourners' 
home, are wondrously powerful in assuaging grief 
and ministering comfort. For every best pur- 
pose of a funeral, those which are private have 
untold advantages over those which are public. 

Costly funerals are the bane of the times. The 
examples of the rich in expending vast sums of 
money for flowers, casket, and carriages, place 
the poorer classes in circumstances of the greatest 
social and financial embarrassment. There seems 
to be a disposition in some circles to create a fame 
for the unknown departed by the pompous cere- 
monies of interment. What better are these pur- 
chased accompaniments than the hired mourners 
of the olden times ? It is the same spirit which 
prompts to all unnecessary display. A reforma- 
tion is demanded. Death will be the more dreaded 
and dreadful if to die be to entail upon loving and 
grieving friends an expense which the toil of a 
life-time cannot pay, The example of Bishop 



Costly Funerals. 



181 



Ames should be followed by others. During his 
last illness, with great composure he gave direc- 
tions as to his funeral, carefully guarding against 
parade and show, forbidding even flowers on his 
coffin, which was to be of plain live-oak. 

The spirit of modern agitation knows no scath- 
less subject. Sacredness is no barrier to its 
vaunted approach. The question has been raised 
whether it is not quite as humane, and as indica- 
tive of refined feeling, to cremate the bodies of 
our dead as to deposit them in the ground to be- 
come the food of worms. History informs us 
that in the most ancient times bodies were buried, 
not burned. The Egyptians, from a vain desire 
to preserve from corruption the bodies of their 
dead, embalmed them. The Greeks, to escape the 
bad effects which might possibly result from de- 
caying bodies, burned them ; but according to 
Pliny, Sylla was the first Roman whose body was 
cremated. With the abolishment of paganism, 
cremation ceased ; and in the belief of the resur- 
rection, Christians committed the bodies of their 
dead to the ground, "earth to earth, ashes to 
ashes, dust to dust." It is, therefore, in keeping 
with the Gospel spirit that Christian burials be 
held in high esteem ; but the most favorable pos- 
sible view of cremation is, that of a cold, skeptical. 



182 



Methodism in the Field. 



and misnamed science. It is the mission of the 
Church, in mortuary affairs, to preserve society 
from the antichristian designs of those who speak 
the praises of an incremating furnace and funeral 
urn. 

" Shall the sweet and chastening associations of 
the grave-yard be exchanged for the awful funeral 
pyre ? Cannot the ( march of improvement ' 
leave us our grass-grown, daisy-tufted mounds, 
beneath which rest quietly the bodies of our loved 
ones ? What if there were no 6 green graves ' of 
our sires? At present, graves are given to the 
poor who require them. Should cremation be- 
come the rule, will receptacles be given them in 
which to entomb the ashes of their dead ? Or 
must the winds of heaven carry to remote and 
unknown distances the ashes of departed friends ? 
Then, O how desolate will be the bereft ones ! 
Under the saddest circumstances of death and 
burial, there is still an unspeakable consolation in 
standing at the grave within which we know our 
friend lies ; in bedewing the precious sod with 
affection's tear, or planting the sweet wild rose 
above the unconscious head ? And 0, how dear are 
the tender recollections surging o'er our hearts 
as we revisit the hallowed spot ! The treasured 
hillock seems to smile upon us almost with the 



The Graves of our Dead. 183 



warmth of his smile as he was wont to greet us 
in life. O no ; never, never, never will we part 
with our present custom of burying our dead." 

" I like that ancient Saxon phrase which calls 

The burial-ground " G-od's Acre ! " It is just; 

It consecrates each grave within its walls, 

And breathes a benison o'er the sleeping dust. 

Into its furrows shall we all be cast, 

In the sure faith that we shall rise again 

At the great harvest, when the archangel's blast 

Shall winnow, like a fan, the chaff and grain." 

Longfellow. 

OBSOLETE CUSTOMS. 
There are good people who think the spiritual 
life of the Methodist Episcopal Church is waning. 
They tell us that her mission is only to the poor 
and uneducated ; that unless she gives up her 
hold upon the rich, the fashionable, and the great, 
they will rob her of simplicity and fervor. There 
has ever been a class in the Church earnest in 
deploring all tendency toward the adoption of 
modern ideas. Bishop Roberts is said to have 
mourned over the degeneracy of the age in which 
he lived because Bishop Soule sold his horse and 
indulged in the luxury of locomotion by stage- 
coach. Persons of primitive sentiments to-day 
are unsparing in the expression of their sorrow 
for the prevalent worldly spirit. The class-meet- 



184 



Methodism in the Field. 



ing ? prayer-meeting, social conversation, and the 
press, echo to their appeals. The following 
emanated from such a source : — 

" There are some pious Methodists now, but nothing like 
what there were forty years ago. Pride has crept in and de- 
stroyed our power. Methodist women could once be dis- 
tinguished from others by their dress. Now they are no 
better than worldly people. "Women are commanded to 
adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness 
and sobriety, not with broidered hair, or gold, or pearls, or 
costly array, but. which becometh women professing godli- 
ness, with good works. 1 Tim. ii. 9. 10. The sisters think 
they must wear ribbons and jewelry, and flowers. It will 
not do. G-od will not look on sin. Once a young lady was 
expelled from a Boston Methodist Church because she per- 
sisted in keeping a rose in her bonnet. There was no other 
such in the congregation. "What would become of the Church 
of the present if the true religious spirit prevailed '? 

"And where is the interest of our quarterly meetings? 
"When they were held in school-houses and in groves we used 
to enjoy them. Worldly people attended and were smitten 
with the power of G-od. It is not so now. There is so 
much style in the Church that they do not feel at home. 

" Why is congregational singing done away? Are instru- 
mental music and choir performances taught in the Bible ? 
Paul, in writing to the Ephesians, speaks of the use by the 
people of psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and 
making melody in your hearts to the Lord ! He says nothing 
about making melody with the fingers. Sometimes, too. the 
worst man in the whole community is the leader or a member 
of the choir. Does he make melody in his heart to the Lord? 

"Why do our preachers read their sermons? Can God 
have called men to preach who have to study a whole week 



Former Days not Better. 



185 



on two sermons and then read them in the end ? "Will he not 
pnt words into their months ? 

"Why is not our Discipline more strictly adhered to in mat- 
ters of membership? There are members in good standing 
in our Churches who have made no profession for years. 
Some, who are never in the prayer-meeting, go to the public 
services just to see and to be seen. Some profess to enjoy 
religion who have no influence over their brothers or over 
the world, and are stumbling-blocks in revival meetings." 

Some of the above questions are posers. They 
have truth for their foundation. A better en- 
forcement of the rules of Discipline, for instance, 
is urgently demanded. When a branch brings 
not forth fruit it should be cast out. It retards 
the growth of other branches, and injures both 
the quality and quantity of the fruit. 

Whether the Church of " forty years ago " was 
very much ahead of the Church of to-day is more 
of an open question. The old prophet told the 
people they spake not wisely in affirming that 
" the former days were better." Perhaps could 
he speak, he would say so now. A half-century 
ago questions of propriety and impropriety, of 
right and wrong, were not as sharply defined, at 
least in some directions. It created no scandal 
then for "members in good standing," in some 
Churches, nor even for ministers, to take their 
" grog." 



186 Methodism in the Field, 



True, the manifestations of religious life were 
then somewhat different from those of the present. 
Earnest prayers, red-hot sermons, and fiery exhor- 
tations, being newer to the people, took hold with 
greater power. But it is doubtful whether the 
violent bodily movements which frequently char- 
acterized conviction then, were any better than 
the greater calmness and thoughtfulness indicat- 
ing the same condition of mind now. Conver- 
sions ought to be clear and sound in every age, 
and experience rich and deep ; but the forms of 
testimony may vary, without detriment, either 
way. As for studied pulpit efforts, Paul's charge 
to a " son in the gospel " is a sufficient warrant, 
" Study to shoio thyself a workman" The great 
trouble with ministers is, not too much but too 
little study. The baptism of fire they must have ; 
the advantages of culture they should have. As 
to reading from manuscripts, "every man in his 
own order." Some farmers plow with oxen, and 
some with horses, but they all sow the seed. 

Nor is it probable that " worldly people " ab- 
sent themselves from religious meetings because 
of " style in the Church." The world will love its 
own. " Style " is the last thing that would keep 
a worldling from the sanctuary. Other causes of 
limited attendance must be sought. 



Mus leal Tnstrum en ts t 



187 



Of musical instruments frequent mention is 
made in the Bible. David, Paul, and John, all 
seem to have been in sympathy with the " psal- 
tery and harp." The first tells them to " awake," 
as if their tones were not prominent enough ; the 
second directs that they speak plainly, that others 
may know what is " piped and harped ;" and the 
last refers tenderly to the harpers by the glassy 
sea. How far instrumental music was used in the 
worship of the ancient temple and on social occa- 
sions is difficult to determine. Many passages 
indicate that some prominence was given it. 
" The singers went before, the players on instru- 
ments followed after ; among them were damsels 
playing with timbrels. Bless ye God in the con- 
gregation." 

" Praise ye the Lord with harp 5 sing unto him 
with the psaltery and an instrument with ten 
strings." " Ye shall have a song, as in the night 
when a holy solemnity is kept ; and gladness of 
heart as when one goeth with a pipe to come into 
the mountain of the Lord." A poet has sung : — 

u There rose the choral hymn of praise, 
And trump and timbrel answered keen, 

And Zion's daughters poured their lays, 
With priests' and warriors' voice between. 



188 Methodism in the Field, 



44 The songs that flowed on Zion's hill, 
Are chanted in Grod's temple still; 
And to the eye of faith unfold 
The glories of his house of old." 

But whatever may be said in defense, and in 
favor of musical instruments, there is something 
decidedly incongruous in allowing a wicked man 
to lead either the choir or congregation in singing 
God's praise. Singing should be made an act of 
worship, not a "performance" simply. In it all 
should join, and should " sing with the spirit and 
with the understanding also." 

As for old styles of apparel, the most vigorous 
discussions have not awakened much interest. Few 
seem to think that the Methodist fathers and 
mothers, however good and worthy otherwise, 
were necessarily inspired with sufficient taste to 
cut desirable patterns for their childrens' clothes 
for all time to come. Moreover, it has been ob- 
served that those sects which make dress a matter 
of " uniform," are not the most successful in the 
work of evangelizing the world. There are peo- 
ple who commit the egregious blunder of suppos- 
ing that notions about " coats and bonnets " were 
early Methodism. They were mere accidents of 
it, standing in relation to it about as the " swad- 
dling clothes of the infant Jesus" did to his char- 



A Pious Woman's Opinion on Dress. 189 

acter as the Son of God. Once an intelligent 
Methodist lady, noted for her zeal in the cause of 
missions, and for her great plainness of manners 
and dress, was requested to give a comment or 
two on the passage of Scripture referring to wom- 
an's apparel. Here is what she wrote : " The 
apostle refers to good works, and also to a meek 
and quiet spirit, as being opposed to a love of 
dress, and doubtless as being antagonized by cost- 
ly display. TTe believe there never was a time 
when earnest Christian women studied economy 
in dress more carefully than now, and for the ex- 
press purpose of devoting money and time to good 
works. Though a Methodist woman may not al- 
ways be conspicuous by her plainness of dress, 
truly pious women may be distinguished from the 
worldlings around them by those who can recog- 
nize a Christ-like spirit ; and it is this, rather 
than any sameness of style, which is to give moral 
power. "We pray that a sense of eternal realities 
and true consecration may give to those oppressed 
by the tyranny of fashion that Christian freedom 
which is more comfortable, more consistent, and 
more permanent, than the restraint which comes 
from outward and often arbitrary criticism." 

The customs and sentiments of childhood are 
very apt to make an indelible impression upon the 



190 



Methodism in the Field. 



mind, and we have often wished that aged Chris- 
tians might in some war be blessed with all that 
delighted their hearts in the long a^o. Never 
were we more touched with any communication 
than with a letter from the keeper of Old Mission 
Point Light-house, situated on the eastern shore of 
Lake Michigan, The burden of his expressed de- 
sire was to ascertain " whether a music-box could 
be made which would play sixteen Methodist 
tunes, such as they used to sing forty years ago.'' 
The old watchman wanted the instrument to keep 
him company, and stated that he was willing to 
pay any price for it. 

That would be a happy art which could make 
real again the cherished memories of the past. 
There are rich men who would pay pure gold, and 
there are powerful kings and princes who would 
confer a dukedom, to have reproduced some fond- 
ly recollected incident of former years. There 
are scenes spread upon the canvas of every life 
which become resplendent with glory when the 
distance of time lends enchantment. He would 
be an immortal artist who could paint them. 

" There are moments of life which are never forgot ; 

They brighten and brighten as time steals away; 
They give a new charm to the happiest lot, 

And they shine on the gloom of the loneliest day/' 



Methodism a Living Force, 



191 



Despite the passing away of old customs with 
the conditions which made them useful, Method- 
ism will ever be found flexible enough to adapt 
itself, without violence or necessary loss of power, 
to existing ideas, wants, activities, and social 
states, As it ever has, so it ever will, bring forth 
the men for the times to frame its customs as cir- 
cumstances require— to contend with living issues 
and create new methods of expansion and aggres- 
sion. He is the true Methodist genius who throws 
himself into the current of social life around him, 

using all available agencies for reaching and res- 
ts o o 

cuing the perishing. This is the work to be done, 
Every rank of life, every grade of society, every 
degree of culture, every form of habit, every kind 
of sentiment, must be brought within the range 
of Methodist fire, Standing in the ranks of Meth- 
odism to-day are the poor, the rich, the wise, the 
ignorant, the great, the obscure, In the world 
outside are similar classifications. It is the busi- 
ness of those within to adopt plans for saving 
those without. Mission chapels, magnificent 
churches, flowing songs, trained choirs, vocal 
music, grand organs, simple raiment, fine apparel, 
vehement preaching, profound dissertation, may 
all, in their way, prove means of salvation to lost 
souls, and, baptized from on high, constitute a 



192 Methodism in the Field. 

grand aggregate of forces for normal development 
and triumphant outreach. Charles Wesley em- 
bodies in song the requisite safeguard : — 

" Let not the wise their wisdom boast, 
The mighty glory in their might, 

The rich in nattering riches trust, 
Which take their everlasting flight. 

One only gift can justify 

The boasting soul that knows his God ; 
When Jesus doth his blood apply, 

I glory in his sprinkled blood." 

A saying of Bishop Ames, whose opinion on 
this question is of peculiar force, may close this 
section. He was preaching in the city of New 
York, in the year 1870. Referring to the sim- 
plicity of Christianity in the apostolic age, he re- 
marked : "I feel as I get older to thank God that 
I do not fall into the vice of old age in saying 
that the Church is retrograding. I do not say so; 
I do not think so. I thank God that I cheerfully 
and heartily believe that the sun which rose this 
morning never shone down upon as good a world 
since Adam fell, and I believe it will keep on shin- 
ing on a world getting better and better until the 
general jubilee. So that in this matter I have no 
disposition to find fault with things as they are ; 
only to try to make them ' better, believing that 



Bishop Ames* Belief. 



193 



they are better than they used to be. As for my 
own Church, I thank God that I can say, in all 
good conscience, I do not believe that it was ever 
a better Church than it is to-day. I do not be- 
lieve that it ever had within its pale or around its 
sacramental altars more intelligent Christian peo- 
ple than it has to-day. I do not believe the fathers 
and mothers were ever trying to train up their 
children better. I do not believe our rich men 
were ever giving more, or our people gener- 
ally ever praying better, or our preachers ever 
working harder. I have no sympathy with those 
who misjudge after the sight of their eyes, and 
think that our fathers worked harder than we do. 
I do not believe any such thing." 

" New times demand, new measures and new men ; 
The world advances, and in time outgrows 
The laws that in our fathers' day were best; 
And, doubtless, after us, some purer scheme 
Will be shaped out by wiser men than we ; 
Made wiser by the steady growth of truth." 

METHODISM AND CIVIL AFFAIRS. 

Nations, like communities and individuals, have 
perplexing problems to solve, and trying difficul- 
ties to overcome. These sometimes call for the 
combination of the strongest social and moral 

forces. The itinerant svstem has proved of high- 
13 



194 Methodism: m the Field. 



est worth as an aid in the solution of national 
problems. Dr. Clarke suggests that Great Britain 
is greatly indebted to this factor of her strength 
for preservation from those convulsions and 
revolutions which have so severely tested other 
European countries. When the late civil war was 
raging the loyal itinerancy was abundantly active 
in the dissemination of those principles which, 
joined with the nation's material forces, saved the 
Union as a whole. Xone can tell how much this 
undivided country owes to Methodist bishops, 
closeted with the "war President" and his cabinet 
officers ; to Methodist editors, scattering the ful- 
minations of loyalty and the lightning flashes of 
]3atriotism among a dismayed and doubting people; 
to Methodist pastors, who, from ten thousand pul- 
pits, urged in importunate su]} plication the claims 
of national justice and the vindication of the cause 
of right, or on tented fields moved among the 
common soldiery, counseling piety, fidelity, and 
unshaken fortitude. And none can forecast what 
practical action may yet be required from these 
same itinerant hosts, scattered as widely as the 
nation, in the adjustment of those social and civil 
questions which are agitating the Commonwealth. 
The Methodist Episcopal Church is in no sense a 
political organization. Her ministers and mem- 



Methodism Not Political. 



195 



bers have no combined political affiliations. It is 
doubtful how so vast a body of people could be 
more perfectly independent of each other in the 
exercise of their prerogatives as citizens. And 
this is the secret of the immense influence and 
solid worth of such an organization in the coun- 
try. The people know that the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, as such, has no designs upon the 
State. Here and there within her pale may be 
found a political aspirant, but for such, Methodists 
themselves have as little respect as have the bois- 
terous alarmists who raise a hue and cry at every 
such discovery. 

Nevertheless, the sentiments and practices of the 
millions of influential people who make up Meth- 
odist congregations, must tell upon the issues of 
the hour. Political legislation, sectional and class 
prejudices, may nullify the best religious influ- 
ences; but in the end that which is of God must 
prevail. Aided by enactments under the Federal 
Constitution, and the authority of the States, the 
safe and righteous principles of the law of God 
would sooner have universal sway. Such aid is 
not to be found in the legal establishment of a 
state-religion, but in the substantiation of relig- 
ious ideas in congressional decrees, executive acts, 
and the public life of a free people. 



196 Methodism in the Field. 



TVhen Lycurgus, Sparta's great lawgiver, 
wished to accomplish a reform in the avaricious 
habits of the Lacedemonians, he stopped the cir- 
culation of gold and silver, and ordained that iron 
currency should be used, to a large quantity of 
which only a small value was attached. People 
stopped hoarding, for a whole room was required 
to lay up thirty pounds sterling. They stopped 
stealing and taking bribes, for the booty could not 
be concealed; they stopped the manufacture of 
non-essentials, for there was no sale for them; they 
ceased purchasing imported fineries, for foreign- 
ers refused the iron coin. There was not to be 
found in all that country, as Plutarch tells us, 
either sophists, wandering fortune-tellers, keepers 
of infamous houses, or dealers in gold and silver 
trinkets, because there was no money. Hence 
luxury died away, and riches lost their prestige, 
since they could not publicly be displayed. Ex- 
cellent workmanship was shown in useful and 
necessary articles, and people came to love each 
other more, because there was less disparity in 
their circumstances. If America could learn 
some of these lessons to-day society would be 
better. Ifot one in a thousand would vote to pay 
such a price for reform, and perhaps the refusal 
would be wise; yet deliverance from the greedy, 



Needed Reform in Finances. 197 

grinding, grasping spirit which, characterizes so 
many lives, and casts up lines of demarkation so 
prominently, would p^ove a lasting benediction 
to millions, and an immediate relief in public 
affairs. 

"The love of money is the root of all evil." 
Whether manifested in the form of penuriousness, 
covetousness, or greed of gain, it is at the bottom 
of sin. The world is full of it. It is a ruling 
principle in daily life. The Wall-street broker 
and Western horse-trader are alike influenced 
by it, 

Christ's life was in practical opposition to this 
spirit. He had no earthly home, but depended 
upon the hospitality of his friends. He never 
used his power for worldly gain. When money 
was needed, he passed outside of all speculation, 
and, by the hands of a disciple, took the coin from 
a fish's mouth. He taught his disciples that "a 
man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the 
things which he possesseth." He commanded 
them to carry neither purse nor scrip. Before 
their eyes he entered the temple, and drove out 
the traders, declaring his house to be a house of 
prayer. When he had passed into the courts of 
heaven as the great Head of the Church, his dis- 
ciples, actuated by his spirit and example, sunk 



198 Methodism in the Field. 



property distinctions, formed a common treasury, 
and gave exclusive attention to religious affairs. 
So complete was their emulation of the example 
Christ had set, that at Antioch the people called 
them " Christians " — imitators of Him who went 
about doing good, and yet "had not where to lay 
his head." 

It is the shame of the Church to-day, with all 
her wealth, that so small a per cent, is given for 
charitable purposes and public reforms. The 
Methodist Discipline, however, is no advocate of 
" communism," for that is illiteracy, laziness, lust, 
and poverty combined. Communism would make 
mere machines of human beings. Its sure end is 
anarchy, cruelty, and destruction. 

" What is a communist? One who hath yearnings 

For equal division of unequal earnings. 

Idler or bungler, or both, he is willing 

To fork out his penny and pocket your shilling." 

Not one of these advocates of the forceful divis- 
ion of property would allow the principle to be 
applied to his own stuffed tobacco-box. Against 
this unreasonable, unlawful, disorderly, and feloni- 
ous spirit, there cannot be too faithfully executed 
a rigorous law. The whole movement is contrary 
to safety, industry, justice, reason, and Scripture. 
The example of the apostles need not be quoted, 



Communism Condemned. 



199 



for that was a voluntary act, and was spiritual 
rather than legal, as the language indicates : "And 
the multitude of them that believed were of one 
heart and one soul : neither said any of them that 
aught of the things which he possessed r was his own; 
but they had all things common." The fact evi- 
dently was, that the spirit of generosity was pre- 
dominant among them, and they " said " nothing 
of their " possessions," but had an ample fund for 
" common " use. And that was right. Our twen- 
ty-fourth Article of Religion embodies the true 
theory relative to property: "The riches and 
goods of Christians are not common, as touching 
the right, title, and possession of the same, as 
some do falsely boast. Notwithstanding, every 
man ought, of such things as he possesseth, liber- 
ally to give alms to the poor, according to his 
ability." 

~No law or custom can make every body rich, or 
even save all from humble circumstances. Jesus 
recognized a fact of life, in all ages and countries, 
when he said, "Ye have the poor always with 
you." 

It is not strange that the poor should consider 
their allotment hard. Inconvenience is invariably 
a result of poverty, and cold and hunger are com- 
mon accompaniments. Afflictions are hard to bear 



200 



Methodism m the Field. 



whe n m a & e most t o I e r a b 1 e . But p a in a n d la n gu or 
become fearful things on a pallet of straw in the 
dark corner of a cold, cheerless apartment, and 
with an empty cupboard. Many poor people have 
toiled just as long and hard as others more high- 
ly favored. Their motives may have been quite as 
good. To such, society seems at fault. They blame 
the Government. They hate public officers. Legis- 
lation seems to them a farce, and the world around 
them is turned upside down. TTith others less 
worthy, they sometimes adopt violent remedies. 

The poor demand the attention of the leaders 
and rulers of society. The pulpit, press, platform, 
legislative hall, and social circle, should ail bring 
their power to bear in behalf of order, purity, 
justice, and charity. Those who are blessed with 
abundance may well afford to practice a liberality 
heretofore unknown. For the rich to refuse a 
modicum of relief, or other appropriate attention 
to those in need, is to add a shaving to the torch 
which the more desperate may first apply to the 
cherished possessions of the cruel-hearted. Silks, 
satins, jewelry, liveried coachmen, magnificent 
palaces, and unoccupied hours, should at least 
not change civility into coldness, kindness into 
indifference, nor charity into austerity. 

It is a time, not for leagues, factions, clubs, caste. 



Capital and Labor. 



201 



and secret communings, but for broad, open, no- 
ble, concentrated, and unstinted action for the 
public relief. The numerous and hot-headed agi- 
tators who have come to these shores from vari- 
ous foreign countries should be taught, most em- 
phatically, that differences of opinion are to be 
settled on the platform and at the polls, and not 
in street mobs or by secret assassinations. And 
the American citizens who have been carelessly 
drinking in the poisonous sentiments of European 
socialists, should stop to consider that the major- 
ity of a free, Christianized people, will not long 
suffer injury to be done ; that their highest hopes 
center in a thriving, rather than an agitated, Re- 
public. Capital and labor are the twin sisters of 
prosperity. Labor is fruitless without capital, and 
capital is worthless without labor. Each is the 
complement and supplement of the other. Capi- 
tal worthily employed and labor rightly directed, 
with patience, forbearance, fidelity, and charity, 
would, in a short period, build up a Commonwealth 
on this continent such as would fulfill the scheme 
of the philosopher, the dream of the poet, and the 
ideal of the patriot. 

Questions of the most vital public interest are 
claiming the attention of Christian people, for out 
from the Churches must come those forces which 



202 



Methodism in the Field. 



are ultimately to " right up " the ship of State and 
smooth the craters of the agitated national sea. 
One of the oldest and sturdiest evils of society is 
intemperance. Much has been done to create a 
healthful public sentiment regarding this vice, and 
something has been done in the Tray of curtailing 
the traffic. Still the red, relentless hand of the 
monster has hold of hundreds of thousands of vic- 
tims, of whom from sixty to one hundred thousand 
every year are hurled into drunkards' graves. In 
the halls of Congress, in the apartments of State, 
in the chambers of commerce, in the offices of 
trade, industry, legal counsel, and medical prac- 
tice, in schools-houses, colleges, and universities, 
in great charitable asylums, public institutions, 
and private homes, are to be found the hapless 
dupes "whose footsteps have learned to reel un- 
der the influence of this seductive poison." And 
considering the " fast " habits and spirit of Amer- 
icans, their indisposition to restrain any thing hav- 
ing the show of enterprise, and this slow appre- 
hension of danger, together with the rapid immi- 
gration of beer-drinking Germans to our shores, 
the evil appears indeed formidable to all lovers of 
good order and sobriety. 

The reformation of a drunkard is far more hope- 
ful when based upon faith in Christ as a personal 



Mission of the Church. 



203 



Saviour than when only the result of the man's 
own resolution. Such is the power of appetite 
that divine aid is essential to full and permanent 
liberty from its controlling influence. 

Men drink liquor because they become addicted 
to the habit. Men sell liquor because the traffic 
is profitable. " Gospel temperance " is the bright- 
est hope of the former ; the heavy hand of a just 
law is the surest remedy for the latter. The ad- 
ministration of these sufficient forces, in the face 
of a yet inadequate public sentiment, is the per- 
plexing undertaking which constitutes a living 
issue of the times. 

Other questions of great significance to both 
Church and State are those of race prejudice, sec- 
tional jealousies, popular ignorance, Sabbath des- 
ecration, political intrigue and corruption, the 
designs of Rome, rationalistic skepticism, mam- 
moth gambling speculations, and a restless passion 
for exciting amusements. 

To check these rising tides of evil, and save our 
country from being overwhelmed, like the nations 
of the past which have forgotten God and fol- 
lowed their own lusts, is the mission of the Church. 
In bearing this awful responsibility none have a 
greater part than the pastors and parishioners of 
Episcopal Methodism. Marshaled under the great 



20i Methodism m the Field. 



Captain, with general superintendents, field offi- 
cers, line functionaries, and a numerous officiary 
all through the organized and disciplined hosts, 
the Wesley an division of the Lord's army, in 
courage, wisdom, fidelity, watchfulness, and ag- 
gressiveness, must substantiate its claim to supe- 
rior honor by superior efficiency. 

THE PULPIT AND THE PRESS. 

In a village of northern Michigan, a few years 
ago, a lad who had been employed as a compositor 
in the local printing-office was found disturbing a 
revival meeting. A clergyman present, noted for 
his eccentricity, paced down the aisle, and, seizing 
the youth around the waist, carried him kicking 
and struggling in mid-air to the pulpit chair be- 
hind the speaker, where, ashamed and confounded, 
he was compelled to remain by his captor during 
the remainder of the service. The following " lo- 
cal" appeared in the village paper that week : — 

" Our ex-devil occupied the pulpit of the M. E. 
Church last Monday evening, thus exemplifying 
the near relation existing between the pulpit and 
the press. 95 

But that relation has foundation other than in 
burlesque. The pulpit and the press march side 
by side in pioneer work. Scarcely does the ax of 



The Pulpit and the Press. 



205 



the persevering settler open a space in American 
wilds, ere the voice of the pulpit and the clanking 
of the press send their messages, the one through 
the ear to his heart and the other through the eye 
to his mind. 

The pulpit and the press are widely distributed 
agencies. They abound in the great centers, in 
the remote corners, and in all the space between. 
The sermon is heard by the President in Wash- 
ington and the miner in Montana. The newspa- 
per is read by the merchant of Xew York and the 
cattle-trader of Texas. "Wherever there is a col- 
lection of homes, from Maine to California, the 
editor writes up their histories and current events, 
while the preacher considers their morals and re- 
veals the source of spiritual life. And these agen- 
cies are being continually multiplied. 

Editors and clergymen are numerous. If each 
class were marshaled, their lines would extend 
for miles, and their march would be heard afar. 
If one were introduced to all the ministers of the 
United States, allowing five minutes for each in- 
troduction, and ten hours a day for the ceremo- 
ny, (taking the Sabbath-day for rest,) two years 
would pass ere the last greeting would occur. 
Or, were one to visit the office of each American 
editor, commencing with the first week of life, 



206 Methodism m the Field. 



tarrying between visits for a " puff " from the 
paper last visited, a century and a half would roll 
along ere the tedious round would be completed. 

The pulpit and the press are extensively diver- 
sified agencies. The latter includes all varieties 
of sentiment, all phases of belief, and all grades 
of principle. Newspapers may be styled religious, 
political, agricultural, professional, literary, sen- 
timental, commercial, educational, sensational, 
anti-christian, nonpartisan, local, and conglomer- 
ate. The pulpit dispenses truth according to 
creed. The primal importance of the ordinances 
is embodied in one creed, and the incumbents of 
that pulpit are sticklers for form ; the freeness 
and fullness of salvation are the characteristics of 
another creed, and that pulpit is an exhortation 
place ; the divine sovereignty is prominently set 
forth in a third creed, and metaphysics are dis- 
pensed from that pulpit ; the mercy of God is 
the plea of the fourth creed, and the hopes of the 
race are heralded from such pulpits as can be 
constructed upon that basis. Sermons may be 
called doctrinal, practical, historical, rhetorical, 
metaphysical, philosophical, poetical, special ; or 
in common parlance, " able," " deep," " smooth," 
"flowery," " eloquent," "good," and "fair con- 
sidering." 



Pulpit and Press Should be in Harmony. 207 

The pulpit and the press are powerful agencies. 
They have more to do with molding public sen- 
timent than all other institutions combined. The 
editor of a metropolitan journal can, with one stroke 
of his pen, create a stir that will be felt from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific, like a cyclone sweeping 
the continent : so a preacher of national reputation 
may throw light upon moral questions which will 
illuminate the minds of millions of people. 

The pulpit and the press are mutually helpful. 
The newspaper carries the record of passing 
events into the pastor's study, where facts are 
woven into the fabric of the discourse, and their 
lessons sounded from the pulpit. The reporter 
in turn sits under the " droppings of the sanctu- 
ary," and the gigantic dailies go forth ladened 
with moral messages. 

The pulpit and the press bear many common 
burdens. They are alike dependent upon the 
voluntary subscriptions of the people : both are 
primarily calculated for the improvement of 
man's higher nature, and yet subject to the capri- 
ces and animosities of his fallen spirit : both are 
in urgent demand at weddings and deaths, public 
celebrations, social gatherings, and other events 
of interest : and yet the poverty of editors and of 
ministers is well-nigh proverbial. 



203 



Methodism ix the Field, 



The pulpit and press should cling "closer to 
each other. They should be thoroughly united 
in promulgating truth, advocating righteousness, 
and undertaking reforms. This was the design 
of 3Ir. "Wesley, who made the press second only 
to the pulpit, as a means of usefulness. If the 
people of the United States for a half century to 
come should have no opportunity to see a discord- 
ant sentiment, profane word, or impure suggestion 
in the fact-ladened columns of the public press, 
nor hear from the pulpit a single utterance save 
practical appeals to holiness and good works, the 
third and fourth generations of Columbia's sons 
and daughters, standing on a higher moral em- 
inence, witnessing a more glorious progress, and 
realizing a richer harmony than their ancestors 
do to-day, would hold high the star-decked flags 
of freedom and redemption, and call upon other 
nations to see in them the symbols alike of pros- 
perity, purity, and peace. Close ranks, then, ye 
heralds of the cross and knights of the quill for a 
grand conquest of the world ! 

UNWHOLESOME READING. 

Every- day reading is the food for public 
thought. The common people are not relying 
much upon social converse, nor digging into solid 



Unwholesome Heading. 



209 



book literature, to find the ideas which engross 
their attention. The daily, weekly, monthly, and 
quarterly publications constitute the bulk of gen- 
eral reading. It is said that story papers alone 
circulate more than five hundred thousand copies 
weekly. The great dailies have the largest cir- 
culation of any class. They are published oftener 
and have the advantage of first dishing up the 
news for which Americans have a craving appe- 
tite. They are not as likely to be accurate as 
those papers which have more time to consider 
the reliability of reports. Flaming headlines are 
frequently used to attract attention to the veriest 
rumor, the contradiction of which will occupy a 
liberal share of space in the next edition* 

Besides inaccuracy, there is much matter in the 
average daily newspaper which is positively del- 
eterious, especially to young minds. The horri- 
ble details of murder, burglary, unseemly ca- 
rousals, the lower grades of political strife, and 
other phases of wickedness, are enough to utterly 
destroy pure sentiment in minds not thoroughly 
established in principles of strict morality. It is 
a startling fact that about the only way to secure 
a mention in some daily newspapers is to do some 
dastardly deed. If a good man falls, his notoriety 

is assured. More space will be devoted to his 

14 



210 Methodism m the Field. 



crime than to the deeds of ninety-nine of his fel- 
lows who maintain their integrity. 

Then of late years crime is illustrated in news- 
papers of the baser sort. These sheets are pub- 
licly exposed in the windows of news-stores, or 
spread out upon stands in the streets. Small 
boys have been observed imitating the attitude 
of assassins as thus held up before them. Idle 
boys in large cities become familiar with crime, 
and such representations serve only to intensify 
the impression that to become famous they must 
make a great sensation by committing a fiendish 
crime in an unheard-of way. 

Nor is a constant perusal of the great story- 
papers less baneful. Ideals of character and life 
are there made prominent, which, if not utterly 
base, are generally defective, and frequently im- 
proper. One of the city judges of Xew York ob- 
served: "There can be no question as to the evil 
tendency of many of the flashy and sensational 
story papers that are sent out every week from 
this city by the hundreds of thousands. I have 
given some attention to this subject, and have 
traced more than one criminal to what I believe 
to be the influence of this kind of reading. Such 
papers are read by the youth of the land with a 
relish that no other sort of literature gives to the 



False Pictures of Life, 



211 



boyish mind." And yet in thousands of relig- 
ious (?) homes there is not a printed column to 
counteract the influence of this kind of reading. 

METHODISTS SHOULD HAVE METHODIST 
LITEEATUEE. 

Among the many elements of strength possessed 
by the Methodist Episcopal Church is her mam- 
moth Book Concern, with its several publishing 
houses and depositories. Founded originally on a 
few hundred dollars of borrowed capital, it has 
attained to great wealth and influence under the 
direct control of the Church. To furnish a cheap 
and pure literature for the people, and at the 
same time appropriate the profits of that literature 
for the people's benefit, was an idea of twofold 
strength put into practical operation by the ven- 
erable founders of this great connectional pub- 
lishing institution. While the books and peri- 
odicals of other Churches are published by inde- 
pendent firms for the enrichment of individuals, 
those of Methodism are furnished by the Church 
herself in one of her departments of service. 

This wonderful fact seems to be overlooked by 
many Methodists, who allow designing publishers 
of nominally religious literature to secure their 
patronage. Fascinated by a showy chromo in the 



212 



Methodism m the Field. 



hands of a u wide awake " solicitor, they have be- 
come " fast asleep " to their own interest, and 
thrust their precious dollars into the hands of 
speculators instead of their own Church treasury. 

Doubtless this has often resulted from igno- 
rance of the real issues. Thousands of people in 
the Methodist communion know absolutely noth- 
ing of her publishing system. The names of the 
Book Concern agents and the "Advocate" edi- 
tors are no more familiar to them than those of 
semi-religious or secular prints. And they have 
not the slightest impression that while they might 
obtain the best reading in their own denomina- 
tional papers, and at the same time deposit, as 
it were, their money for practical Church uses, 
that which they pay to other publishers is gone 
forever, not unfrequently being the price of trash 
or moral poison. 

The devil is waging a lively contest with the 
powers of light, and one of his methods is to 
make prominent plausible literary sentiments, so 
that under cover he can destroy the best princi- 
ples of Christian minds. He gets vantage-ground 
over some by announcing unsect art anism as the 
characteristic of a home paper, as if it were crim- 
inal to love one ? s own Church, and to work un- 
compromisingly for her advancement. In other 



Satan's Wiles. 



213 



cases he procures the services of some brilliant, 
but morally " loose- jointed preacher " to write for 
a given periodical, and on this ground urges it 
upon Christians, as if a rattle-snake ought to be 
petted because there is a harmless rattle on his tail. 
Methodist homes by hundreds can be found into 
which Church publications never enter, the chil- 
dren and other inmates reading only second-class 
novels and distorted news, which, while they may 
amuse the fancy, debase the mind and injure the 
soul. It may be feared that Methodist parents 
will be found at the judgment, all in a quiver of 
terror under a sense of responsibility not fulfilled, 
springing from this gross neglect. They gratified 
their perverted literary taste, or vented their spite 
against an official editor who mayhap crossed their 
political sentiment, or they saved a few cents — 
the price of pure religious reading — but they left 
deathless spirits, committed to their solemn charge, 
to revel in vile imaginations, and involve them- 
selves in eternal disaster. 

But, to put aside questions of self-interest, (for 
Methodist literature has never been sent begging,) 
there is a more independent view, Literature 
may be placed upon its merits, and then that of 
Methodism will compare favorably with any other. 
The several " Advocates," for attractiveness of 



214 Methodism in the Field. 



form and print, worth of matter and versatility of 
presentation, are the peers of any weekly news- 
papers on the continent. The " National Reposi- 
tory " is not far behind the best of magazines. 
The " Quarterly Review," in mechanical execu- 
tion, profound thought, concise statement, and 
trenchant editorial utterance, has no superior in 
the world. The Sunday-school lesson system, 
tract publications, and bound volumes, are all of 
acknowledged value, and comprehend every de- 
partment of religious activity and thought. That 
which comes before the public under the stamp of 
the " Methodist Book Concern " may safely be ac- 
cepted as of highest current value in all that tends 
to satisfy a pure taste, improve morals, and foster 
piety. 

Pastors should preach upon this subject. They 
should also operate the plans for the dissemination 
of good reading. People should come to their aid. 
Members who turn their backs upon this impor- 
tant branch of Church work are at fault. Other 
things being equal, those congregations well sup- 
plied with our literature are the most useful and 
prosperous. They know what their Church is do- 
ing, and their spiritual sympathies are not wither* 
ing for the want of proper nutriment, 



Patronizing Our Literary Institutions. 215 

PATRONIZING METHODIST LITEEAEY INSTITUTIONS. 

Methodism has ever been a friend to education. 
It had its origin in Oxford University, an English 
classic seat, and its earliest support from young 
men ranking high in the scholarship of their times. 
Scarcely was American Methodism planted when 
Dr. Coke and Bishop Asbury turned their atten- 
tion to the work of providing a system of higher 
education. Their first experiences were truly dis- 
heartening. Fire after fire swept away the results 
of their sacrificing toil until Asbury declared that 
"Methodists were not called to build colleges." 
That saying was a mistake, as time has demon- 
strated. The theory of the Church is, that each 
Conference, if practicable, shall have one academy 
or seminary under its direct supervision, and that 
not less than four conferences shall unite in the 
support of a college or university. Thus different 
sections have different centers. Working upon 
this basis, wealthy Methodists and friends have 
bestowed liberal gifts, and the general Church has 
poured out her benevolent offerings, until more 
than one hundred literary and theological institu- 
tions have been founded, many of which are com- 
fortably endowed. The curriculums of these seats 
of learning will compare favorably with any on 



216 Methodism m the Field. 



this continent. Some of the libraries are already of 
considerable extent, and library funds are receiving 
increased attention. Professorships are also being 
generally endowed, and every facility for thorough 
culture brought into the speediest possible requisi- 
tion. There are more than seven hundred mem- 
bers in the faculties of these institutions, many 
of whom are distinguished for profound learning, 
their fame having extended the world around. 
At least twenty-five thousand students are pursu- 
ing the courses of study. Tens of thousands have 
already graduated and gone out into society, some 
to point their fellows to the cross, other to diffuse 
learning wider still, but all to prosecute with 
greater effectiveness their chosen work. 

The Christian element in education is the bul- 
wark of the Church. Humanity may be taught 
to think without the Bible in the schools or the 
spirit of religion in the instructions, but not to 
think rightly. "The education that charges the 
intellect with power, the hand with skill, the 
tongue with eloquence, the body with grace, ig- 
noring or neglecting the heart, is, in truth, defect- 
ive, partial, false, and perilous." The children of 
all mankind should be educated "in, under, and 
by, the light of the cross." The sons of Columbia 
especially need to seek their mental illumination 



Christian Element i?i Education. 217 



amid a halo of moral light. The incoming tide of 
foreign population, " like ocean waves on all our 
shores, threatens to sweep over our mountains and 
spread over our valleys, submerging this Chris- 
tian land Y\ r ith the muddy waters of Roman Ca- 
tholicism, French infidelity, German rationalism, 
and Chinese paganism." Men with Christian 
hearts and cultured minds are needed every- where 
— in politics, literature, agriculture, journalism, 
law, executive and judicial offices — men who can 
weigh the significance and sound the depths of 
every social tendency, test the power behind it, 
and set up a standard of defense. To furnish the 
rudiments of such a character in every man who 
shall live, move, and have his being when the 
present generation has fallen, common schools, 
combined with home training, may serve a noble 
purpose. Protestantism is the friend of letters. 
Her watchword is, " Let there be light ! " Ro- 
manism is the ally of ignorance. Hence she 
opposes the system of popular education. Prot- 
estantism builds schools for all classes, founds 
libraries, and furnishes apparatus for instructing 
the masses, Romanism has her parochial schools, 
intensely sectarian, seeking chiefly to plant and 
nourish the one idea of subserviency to the priest. 
As Protestant schools are required to perpetuate 



218 Methodism ix the Field, 



the existence of free institutions and enlightened 
principles, so Methodist schools are essential to 
the stability and progress of the "revival Church." 
Our boys and girls need such training as shall 
make them the repositories of power in rescuing 
the perishing from the tide of evil, and proclaim- 
ing freedom for all in moral bondage. It is the 
duty of Methodist parents to devote their ener- 
gies, their prayers, their influence, and their purses 
to the production of this training in those com- 
mitted to their care. Where and how can this be 
done more consistently, economically, and safely, 
than in the great centers of Methodist learning ? 
How grievously, foolishly, and fatally do they err, 
who, guided by the nicker of a false conception 
" of superior advantages," dedicate their children 
to Moloch in papal schools or infidel universities. 

" But there are parents without means for giv- 
ing the culture of higher learning to their chil- 
dren." Not so. Any energetic person, with such 
aid as almost any father can render, may in these 
days reap the advantages of college discipline. 
But where all other means of superior culture 
prove beyond the reach, the Methodist Discipline, 
ever in the van, comes to the relief. "It shall be 
the duty of the presiding elder to bring the subject 
of education, in individual Churches, before the 



A Good Disciplinary Provision. 219 



first quarterly conference of each year, and said 
quarterly conference shall appoint a committee, 
of which the preacher in charge shall be ex officio 
chairman, to organize, wherever practicable, a 
Church Lyceum under the supervision of the 
quarterly conference, for mental improvement, 
and to develop facilities for social intercourse ; 
to organize free evening schools ; to provide a li- 
brary, text -books, and books of reference ; to pop- 
ularize religious literature by reading rooms or 
otherwise ; to seek out suitable persons, and if 
necessary assist them to obtain an education, with 
a view to the ministry ; and to do whatever shall 
seem best fitted to supply ^any deficiency in that 
which the Church ought to offer to the varied 
nature of man." Here is in contemplation an 
embryo college. Brought into practical recogni- 
tion in an earnest society, it might at least prove 
serviceable as an auxiliary e * Chautauqua " in sow- 
ing good seed in the soil of unprivileged souls. 

IXSTEUCTIXG THE CfflLDKEN EELIGIOUSLY. 

The theory of Methodism regarding the instruc- 
tion of children could not well be improved upon. 
This will appear to all who will take up the Dis- 
cipline and read the paragraphs relating thereto. 
But the practice is strangely and dangerously out 



220 Methodism in the Field. 

of harmony with the theory. The responsibility 
of this neglect rests chiefly upon presiding elders, 
pastors, and parents. 

No indictments are here brought against the 
Sunday-school system or workers of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. But the times are perilous, 
and children should receive more religious atten- 
tion than is bestowed upon them. They need it 
to counteract the unfavorable influences which a 
bad world is throwing around them. Infidelity 
of an attractive type never was more aggressive 
in its designs than now. Religious sentimental- 
ism was never more popular. Along with the 
true spirit of Christian union, which has charac- 
terized the efforts of Churches for a few years 
past, has come a false spirit — a disposition to over- 
look the unrenewed elements of all characters, and 
to hail as brothers all who use any forms of wor- 
ship. The distinctive features of true orthodoxy 
are concealed, thrust down, and the plausible 
forms of the so-called "new faith" kept before 
the mind. Methodist doctrines are pretty thor- 
oughly hidden from the sight even of Methodist 
childhood. Children do not attend the preaching 
services as generally as they ought, and so lose 
the mite of doctrine occasionally dispensed from 
the pulpit. 



Distinctive Doctrines to be Taught. 221 

Sunday- school literature contains too little doc- 
trine which children may distinguish as the faith 
of Methodists. Superintendents and teachers rare- 
ly make prominent, as such, a Methodist idea. 
The Catechism is not used much, and scarcely 
ever committed to memory. A distinguished 
Methodist divine* used to declare that wisdom 
demands the introduction of denominational pecul- 
iarities into the minds of children. Fashionable 
liberalism may ridicule such Methodistic tenacity. 
Be it so. The burden can be borne. Believing 
the doctrines of Methodism to be the nearest ap- 
proach to truth, they can be honestly inculcated 
in all their native peculiarities. Not denying to 
"fellow Christians truth substantial, Methodists 
may claim truth distinctive, and aim to have 
their sword keenly set, two-edged and sharp 
pointed." 

The Discipline contemplates the organization of 
children into classes for this specific purpose. It 
is the "duty of each preacher to catechise the 
children publicly in the Sunday-school and at 
special meetings appointed for the purpose." Meth- 
odism proposes to impress upon the minds of child- 
hood the fact that the best religious home on 
earth is the Church of their fathers and mothers. 
* Rev, G-. Cookman. 



222 Methodism the Field. 



Those officers are recreant to their trusts who fail 
to carry out the disciplinary order. 

Infant baptism is retained in the Church. To 
render it a power for good, baptized children are 
to be organized into classes and placed under the 
watchcare of leaders. The wonder is that so 
many of the lambs, when neglected, find a home 
in the spiritual fold. But it is said that children 
have no interest in such meetings. This is not 
true. Children are quite as easily interested in 
Bible truth as grown people. The only requisite 
is, that the instructor prepare his sermon, or lect- 
ure, or lesson, so as to reach their cases. They 
should have the best room, the best hour, the best 
ability, and the best every thing. The vast im- 
portance of believing right, as the groundwork for 
doing right, should be impressed upon them. 
Then, realizing sooner or later that their happi- 
ness and safety are the design of the services, 
their hearts will go out in gratitude to their coun- 
selors, as to their parents for protection from ma- 
terial harm. 

The stability of our Church, the perpetuity of 
our spiritual life, the happiness of our homes, 
and the safety of our social and civil institutions, 
all demand, with a voice which we dare not dis- 
regard, that the rising generations of Methodist 



Sound Training Important. 



228 



sons and daughters be more thoroughly trained 
in the principles of our faith. In the unsettled 
condition of American society, the Church must 
serve as a strong defense against skepticism, im- 
morality, and common manners of ungodliness. 
She must carry the Bible into new settlements, 
and hold high the standard of right among the 
accumulating city masses, assimilating all the 
diverse social elements into a population of God- 
fearing, law-abiding, and country-loving people. 
The present generation may hope to do little 
more than " hold the fort " till re-enforcements 
come. These must be found in the persons of ar- 
dent, robust, intelligent, and disciplined young 
men and accomplished and devout young women, 
radically in sympathy with the changing condi- 
tions of social life, and the rapid development of 
modern progress. 

EXCLUDING MEMBERS. 
Notwithstanding great care in receiving per- 
sons into the Church, a few prove unworthy. The 
Discipline provides for action against such. It 
names immoral conduct, imprudent conduct, neg- 
lect of the means of grace, dissension, disagree- 
ment in business, the non-payment of debts, and 
insolvencies, as grounds for examination, and if 



224 Methodism in the Field. 

necessary, trial and expulsion. Our Saviour (see 
Matt, xviii, 15-17) instituted a rule for the cor- 
rection of trespassing brothers which is of bind- 
ing force and universal application. The excom- 
munication of a Church member is a very solemn 
act. Once expelled, a person has no privileges of 
society or sacrament in the Church without con- 
trition, confession, and satisfactory reformation. 
Church trials, like revivals, should have in view 
the salvation of souls. The exercises cannot be 
too prayerful and devout. How frequently are 
these disciplinary tribunals allowed to develop 
spirit and speech wholly at war with the religion 
of Christ. Animosities and complications grow 
out of them which arrest all spiritual prosperity. 

Appropriate action against known offenders can- 
not be too prompt. The history of ecclesiastical 
proceedings show that usually the wounds inflict- 
ed on the Church were not probed soon enough. 
When inflammation ensues the dismemberment 
produces great agitation and suffering. Hence 
sufficient charity is no more a virtue than timely 
procedure. It is wrong to allow a person to remain 
in the Church who is impenitently guilty of a crime 
expressly forbidden in the word of God, and suf- 
ficient to exclude from heaven. Real humilia- 
tion, however, gives occasion for long suffering. 



Change of Church Relation. 225 



CHANGE OF CHURCH RELATION. 
In every Church relation there is what may be 
termed a fitness of things — a certain adaptation 
of the peculiar to the peculiar. Some tenets 
and customs are not agreeable to some kinds of 
training or temperaments. For instance, there 
are those who can take the dogma of foreordina- 
tion in allopathic quantities, others prefer homeo- 
pathic doses, and others turn away with aversion, 
unable to endure it at all. Such classes of people 
need to be careful in entering the great moral 
hospital. Should they be assigned to a ward 
where the doctrines are too strongly tinctured in 
the wrong direction they will soon be seeking a 
transfer. 

In regard to baptism many are liberal : they 
cheerfully grant freedom of choice to all con- 
cerned. But others are strict hydropaths, toler- 
ating nothing but the "much water " cure. Now 
if an exclusively hydropathic patient or practi- 
tioner should unfortunately find himself among 
the eclectics, he would naturally feel embarrass- 
ment until he had placed himself among suitable 
elements. Hence he leaves a Church which ex- 
tends liberty of choice, to identify himself with 

some sect of specialists. 
15 



226 Methodism in the Field. 



When a minister or member withdraws from 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, the change of 
opinion which leads to the act is generally trace- 
able to personal considerations. There are few 
inflexible rules under which a devoted spirit may- 
chafe. 

Many people are very susceptible of influences. 
They are slaves to the opinions of others. What- 
ever views they hear most expressed they hold to 
with the greatest tenacity. Some denominations 
are shrewd in their treatment of this class. Their 
pulpits ring with proclamations of their pecul- 
iarities, and their social circles echo them back 
again. Sometimes the echo falls upon the ear 
of an innocent-minded Methodist, and straight- 
way he says, "I hear no such sounds as home. 
They talk there about freedom, fire, purity, and 
the like, but the 'noise of many waters' never 
greeted my ears until now." So he jumps 
astride the hobby and goes galloping out of the 
Church. 

Other natures are wonderfully sensitive. They 
are perpetually getting "hurt." They were 
born sore, and every succeeding touch makes the 
wounds more tender. Every thing is taken as 
personal. No favor can be shown them, nor 
even justice done them, without its being taken 



Unconscio us JBackslidin g. 



227 



as a personal consideration. So, on the other 
hand, any thing said or done not especially in 
their interests is taken as a personal thrust, 
and absolute silence is construed as the most 
cruel neglect. Suppose these natures to be in the 
Methodist Church, and some discerning spirit of 
another denomination becomes cognizant of their 
grievances ; how easy it is to get a hearing, to 
make an impression, and to lead the sheep, as the 
result of a little personal attention, into another 
fold. There is always one consolation in such 
cases. The new fold gains no more than the old 
fold loses. " A wounded spirit who can bear." 

Again, there is such a thing as unconscious 
backsliding. The soul does not know the trouble 
with itself. The class-meeting, once enjoyed, is 
enjoyed no more. The itinerancy, once in har- 
mony with judgment and conscience, is suddenly 
at war with freedom. The mistaken soul jumps 
at the conclusion that all is wrong but itself. 
Could it see the change within — how the flame 
of fire or spark of grace had died out—could it 
realize how the life is not what it once was — it 
might, perhaps, seek self-correction. Not so now. 
Instead of raising the fallen spirit up to an emi- 
nence with the good creed, it pulls the creed 
down to a level with the poor life. Then a new 



228 



Methodism the Field. 



Church is in order, having a form of godliness but 
" denying the power," or one making a dearth of 
Christian testimony the occasion for the misinter- 
pretation of the " still, small voice." 

The Church may also contain characters not 
sufficiently sanctified to render ambition subordi- 
nate to usefulness. To such the itinerancy be- 
comes little else than a tyranny. To be moved 
when and where higher authority shall order is 
unbearable. Hence all Christendom is full of 
third-growth Spurgeons, of miniature Talmages, 
of aping Moodies, of incarnated parodies on Swing, 
and of many other inferior imitations. The prin- 
ciple is applicable to societies as well as to min- 
isters. 

Doubtless good may occasionally result from a 
change of church or ministerial relatiou. Unlike 
the marriage relation, such divorce is not always 
a sin. One advantage of denomlnationalism is, 
that every constitution may find its adaptations 
somewhere amid the great variety. A few things, 
however, ought to be borne in mind: — 

1. The mere transition of member ship from one 
evangelical body to another is an event of no spe- 
cial moment. The custom of making such trans- 
fers prominent, both in print and conversation, is 
of questionable expediency. Let no person hope 



Unconscious Backsliding. 



229 



to gain desirable notoriety by such an act, and 
the changes will grow "beautifully less." 

2. A home spirit should be cultivated in all 
Churches. Members should try to please each 
other for their good to edification. The obscurest 
and most sensitive minds should have no occasion 
to feel that other societies are more friendly than 
their own. 

3. If all professors of religion would work for 
the conversion of souls rather than the unsettling 
of those differing in non-essentials, the millennium 
would sooner come, and Christians be better pre- 
pared to enjoy it. How a proselyting spirit can 
ever be contented in heaven without deranging its 
order is hard to conceive. . 

4. Let the religious field be selected with a 
view to usefulness rather than position, or ease, 
or pleasure, and satisfaction will be more likely 
to result. There is work for all. The Church 
militant is for labor, the Church triumphant for 
reward. This is God's order. They who would 
reverse it, going about seeking rest and finding 
none, need not be surprised if their search prove 
eternal. 



230 



METHODISM IN THE FlELD. 



METHODIST LOYALTY. 

The Dean of Carlisle gave utterance to truth 
■when he wrote: "To my judgment the great 
peril of the day is compromise, amalgamation, and 
suppression of truth by mutual consent; a plau- 
sible but insincere union and co-operation not 
merely with known, avowed, and shameless con- 
spirators and traitors, but with Sacramentalists, 
Saeerdotalists, and Nothingarians, who are all 
smiles and beaming piety, but who in heart hate 
the doctrine of justification by faith, who ignore 
the works of the Spirit, the conversion of the soul by 
grace, and such like grand and fundamental truths. 
Neither the Pope nor the infidel would make such 
havoc among us if the little band of faithful men 
would come out and be separate ! Our most dan- 
gerous foes are not the decorative and monastic 
ritualist, nor the loud-barking atheist or skeptic ; 
but the plausible, courteous, affiliating, 'dearly be- 
loved brethren,' who would knit all the so-called 
Churches in one patchwork quilt, which might 
cover them in a soft and downy bed of spiritual 
sleep, leaving them to dream of security and 
charity, while the noxious errors which prevail 
among them are eating out the vitals of true god- 
liness, spiritual experience, and sound doctrine.'' 



l)momina£ionalism not Intolerance, 231 



Bishop Simpson is reported to have said, in a late 
conference address, that he would rather have 
one half the number of members at present re- 
ported, and they Methodistic to the core, than 
our large membership with so many half-hearted 
ones. The Church takes in people who neither 
know nor love its economy, and as a result dis- 
cipline is relaxed. Preachers are admitted to full 
conference relations who hardly know what they 
believe, and who, if Presbyterians or Congrega- 
tionalists were to give them a call with the offer 
of a larger salary, would accept the proposition. 
He did not wish to take or keep any man who is 
not thoroughly a Methodist. 

True denomination alism is not bigotry. There is 
no illiberality in Methodist loyalty. Love for the 
doctrines and usages which have been blessed of 
God in the conversion of so many souls, and the 
evangelization of such vast areas of territory, im- 
plies no spirit of intolerance toward creeds and 
customs- less effectual. 

The best way to impress unsaved men with 
the dignity and value of a Church relation is to 
kindly exclude them from its peculiar privileges 
while in their unrenewed state. There are indi- 
viduals, professing no change of heart, and claim- 
ing no identity with the Church, who have been 



232 



Methodism ra the Field. 



patronized by eieetioris to various official positions 
to such an extent that they have come to feel 
that there is nothing more for them in the Church, 
and that a man need be no better than a worldling 
to enjoy all there is in it. Away with the triflings 
of policy and a liberality which is little better 
than irreligion ! There are, likewise, nominal 
Methodists who openly assert their indifference to 
the characteristics of creed. Their names are 
upon the " class book/' not because they regard 
the class-meeting as a special means of grace, but 
because attendance upon class is not made an in- 
flexible test of membership. They attend Meth- 
odist services, not because they love to hear truth 
from a Methodist stand-point, but because the 
itinerant system placed at their station a minister 
whose preaching is adapted to their tastes ; and 
they would not hesitate to leave if a greater light 
should illumine the pulpit of a neighboring church. 
Xo dependence can be placed upon them in the 
times which try men's souls. "Unstable as water/' 
they excel in nothing save the plasticity of their 
own doctrinal opinions. 

" Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine. ,, 
The most vital element of a man's character is his 
belief. " The truths of doctrine are the very es- 
sence of religion. A man is, in religion, as he 



Conferences of the JI. E. Church, 283 



believes." Methodist ministers and members are 
solemnly committed to belief in AYesleyan doc- 
trines. These may not differ in many respects 
from those held in common by evangelical 
Churches, but some phases of Methodist belief do 
touch at vital points of Christian experience. 
That salvation is free for all, attainable note, for 
conscious enjoyment, and complete deliverance 
from sin, are salient traits of TTesleyan faith. 

CONFERENCES OF THE M. E. CHUECH. 

In the Methodist Episcopal Church there are 
five judicatory bodies, the highest of which is the 
General Conference. It is the only legislative 
body of the Church. The first delegated General 
Conference was held in May, 1812. It meets 
quadrennially, on the first day of May, the bishops 
being the presiding officers. It is composed of 
one ministerial delegate for every forty-five mem- 
bers, or fraction thereof, of each Annual Confer- 
ence, and two lav delegates from the territory of 
each Annual Conference, except such conferences 
as have but one ministerial delegate — which have 
also but one lay delegate. The General Confer- 
ence elects bishops ; Missionary, Church Extension, 
Freedmen's Aid, Sunday-School Union and Tract, 
and Educational secretaries ; book agents ; and edi- 



234 



Methodism ix the Field. 



tors of books and periodicals. It generally con- 
tinues in session one full month. 

The judicial conference is composed of " triers 
of appeals," seven of whom are chosen by each 
Annual Conference. It tries appeals of members 
of Annual Conferences, and bishops against whom 
charges may be brought. 

The Annual Conference consists of traveling 
preachers. A bishop presides at the annual ses- 
sion. Its powers are solely administrative. It 
examines the characters of all its members, each 
name being called in open session. It appoints 
various committees, the reports of which are read 
in conference. The sentiments of the body are 
thus expressed from year to year upon important 
questions. The statistical reports show increase 
or decrease, as may be, in the number of churches, 
parsonages, Sunday-schools, baptisms, deaths, lo- 
cal preachers, members, amount of collections, etc. 
The electing and ordaining of deacons and elders 
are done in the Annual Conferences. Pastors are 
assigned to their fields of labor at the close of each 
Annual Conference session. An old pastoral re- 
lation does not terminate, nor a new one begin, 
until the announcements are made by the bishop. 

The district conference has only a conditional 
existence; It may be convened by the affirmative 



District and Quarterly Conferences, 235 



votes of a majority of the quarterly conferences 
in a presiding elder's district, and may be entirely 
discontinued by a two-thirds vote of all the mem- 
bers present at any session, three fourths of the 
quarterly conferences in the district concurring. 
It is composed, when thus constituted, of the travel- 
ing and local preachers, the exhort ers, district stew- 
ards, and one Sunday-school superintendent and 
one class-leader from each charge in the district. 
The presiding elder is the presiding officer, unless 
a bishop is present. If both be absent, a presi- 
dent is chosen by ballot from among the travel- 
ing elders. The district conference takes general 
oversight of the financial, educational, benevolent, 
and spiritual interests of the district. It takes 
cognizance of local preachers and exhorters, in- 
quiring into their official characters, gifts, and la- 
bors. It may hold such literary and other exer- 
cises as it may elect. 

The quarterly conference has supervision of a 
single pastoral charge, and is composed of the 
official members. Its order of business is well 
known. Its effectiveness on each circuit or sta- 
tion depends much upon the energy and fidelity 
of the officiary. The Discipline also provides for 
leaders and stewards' 1 meetings, to inquire after the 
sick and needy, to recommend suitable persons 



286 



Methodism in the Field, 



for license to preach or exhort, and to examine 
into the conduct of members. 

ANNUAL CONFERENCE VTEEK. 

Conference week may be compared to an isth- 
mus connecting the two continents of two pastor- 
ates. The itinerant minister is a traveler or 
explorer. The continent behind him has been 
traversed. Its undulating experiences are famil- 
iar to his mind. He knows every hill of difficulty 
he has climbed, every valley of sorrow he has 
passed through, every opposing obstacle he has 
surmounted. The beautiful landscapes of joyous 
days are photographed upon his memory. The 
acquaintances he has formed, the churches he has 
built, the souls he has led to Christ are all charac- 
teristics to him of the particular field to which he 
waves adieu. 

The pastorate before him is a land unknown, 
or supposed to be. What scenes of beauty or 
periods of trial it may contain he knows not, nor 
can he know until he has passed through. Unlike 
the lands of earth, it shifts its scenes with each 
succeeding traveler. Xor can he enter to explore 
until the episcopal fiat has gone forth bidding him 
proceed. 

Conference week is, therefore, the peculiar one 



Preachers at Conference* 



237 



of the fifty-two. It has the Christmas and New- 
Year of Methodism, being the connecting link be- 
tween the old year and the new. It is the holi- 
day of every itinerant. The load of care which 
accumulated through the closing year is thrown 
off, and the buoyant spirit feels no weight save a 
possible dread of what may come, A happier 
population no land ever contained than these shep- 
herds of Israel gathering for their annual festivi- 
ties. The pressure of the hand, the sparkle of the 
eye, the tenor of the conversation, all bespeak the 
joy of the heart. The preaching, praying, sing- 
ing, and even the familiar routine of business, 
have a livelier interest because of the zest with 
which they are entered into. The aged itinerant 
feels young again, and the wasting frame seems 
to gather vitality under the electrifying influence 
of these recurring sessions. Aside from adminis- 
trative transactions, Annual Conferences are worth 
holding for their social and sanitary advantages. 

The Discipline, which defines the duties of a 
Methodist preacher so minutely, has certain rules 
for his deportment at Conference. They are sug- 
gestive and wholesome, and perhaps necessary, 
but it is difficult to enforce rules for private con- 
duct under such circumstances. A horse, when 
freed from his harness at the close of the day, 



238 Methodism in the Field. 



shakes off fatigue with his master's reins, and goes 
galloping over the pasture-field. The commands 
he would obey w^hen bridled he heeds not when 
free. Something of the same spirit may be sup- 
posed to prompt the hard-w T orking itinerant. A 
sense of responsibility has been upon him through 
the year. The conference session is a kind of 
pasture-field, and Methodist preachers, turned 
loose therein, forget fatigue as greeting answers 
greeting in the innocent hilarity of the hour. 

Nevertheless, the solid transactions of an An- 
nual Conference are not few. The light hearts at 
the opening of the session generally find their 
counterparts in light pockets at the closing. The 
payment of money into the treasuries of the sev- 
eral benevolent societies, the settlement of book 
concern accounts, and responses to special appeals, 
create considerable financial stir. There are also 
disciplinary matters which occupy much attention. 
Important questions are sure to arise, (sometimes 
trivial ones, as in all deliberative bodies,) winch 
command earnest thought and voluminous speech. 

The religious services of Conference are full of 
interest. Though Methodist preachers, when as- 
sembled together, are considered hard auditors, if 
those who speak get their sympathy they find in 
it wondrous power, " Speakers from abroad " are 



Reading of Appointments. 239 



quite as likely to succeed in this direction as mem- 
bers of the Conference in session. 

The most exciting event of an Annual Confer- 
ence is the reading of appointments. In the olden 
time, when all the preachers were ignorant as to 
their assignments, the interest at this moment be- 
came intense. Much still remains, as few pastors 
are advised with certainty concerning their future 
fields of labor before the announcements are made 
by the bishop. And changes are sometimes made 
at the last moment, the proclamation of wmich sur- 
prises some previously composed. Nevertheless, 
"he that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious 
seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, 
bringing his sheaves with him." Psa. cxxvi, 6. 

THE JOYS OF MOVING. 

What Methodist minister could not relate cu- 
rious incidents concerning his removals from one 
charge to another. Fifty years ago there was ad- 
venture in such experiences. No railroads ex- 
isted, facilities for travel by water were not great, 
and the daring itinerants, on foot or horseback, 
traversed the long distances over rough wagon 
roads, or along the winding Indian trails. 

But moving under the best circumstances has 
its unique accompaniments. In these latter days 



240 Methodism in the Field. 



better roads and modes of conveyance have their 
offsets in larger quantities of household goods of 
more delicate construction. "What encourage- 
ment " packing up " affords ! How inspiring it is 
to take down pictures, wrap them in quilts, and 
stow them away with the nicest care ! With what 
delight is a carpet taken up, the dust shaken and 
beaten out, and the floor cleaned afterward ! What 
a never-failing source of joy is the adjustment for 
safe carriage of crockery, dishes, and canned fruit! 
How many exactly-sizeable corners can be found 
in different boxes for stove kettles, pots, basins, 
and pans ! Who cannot tell what not to do with 
a clothes wringer, a paper holder, a garden rake, 
a pair of steelyards, or a coffee-mill ? What un- 
sophisticated biped could not dispose of a clock, 
a looking glass, or a ladies' summer hat for which 
there is no bandbox ? This writer packed up all 
alone once. After all the boxes were filled, ex- 
cept a big one reserved for stove furniture and 
rough ware, a fine summer hat was found upon 
an upper closet shelf. It was a thing of beauty, 
but of perplexity as well. ISTo wife was there to 
devise a plan for its unscathed transportation. 
For fifteen minutes earnest search w^as made to 
find an inclosure large enough to receive it and 
small enough to secure it. At last a most de- 



Joys of Settling. 



241 



pairing look was cast into the silent depths of 
the great empty box. An old tin pail had been 
set in one corner. A happy thought flashed across 
the mind, and in the twinkling of an eye, the 
beautiful hat was laid in the midst of the box 
with the pail turned over it. Then, as if fear- 
ful that a second thought might lead to its dis- 
turbance, a wash-stand was piled in, together 
with flat irons, gridirons, old boots and shoes, 
stove pipe, and whatever hands could be laid upon 
not already packed. Inside of ten minutes the 
last nail was driven into the cover, and the pro- 
prietor of that box was resting at ease. The hat's 
particular owner never knew where or how it was 
packed until, without a break or a bruise, it was 
found under that endeared old pail. 

Then, again, it is joyous to " settle." The car- 
pets always fit so well in another parsonage ! 
The stoves and stove-pipes are so perfectly adapted 
to the new arrangements ! One has never to get 
another elbow, nor a half-length of pipe, nor a 
yard of wire! The window curtains are invari- 
ably of the right length, appropriate color, and 
exact number, for the various windows ! The 
place for a " study " is always easy to find, so as 
to suit convenience and economize wood ! New 

chairs, oil-cloths, clothes-lines, carpet-tacks, and 
16 



242 



Methodism in the Field. 



panes of glass are never in demand ! Benches, or 
steps, or walks, or shelves, have no need of con- 
struction ! The movers never get crushed toes, 
bruised heads, pounded fingers, nor torn clothes ! 
They are invariably engaged in religious thought, 
pious meditation, and Christian experience ! Es- 
pecially are these things true when they consider 
the " move" uncalled for ! Love for the itinerancy 
is sure to be fostered by such reflections ! This 
is greatly augmented by the memory of kind ex- 
pressions from the people on the old charge, and 
the apparent indifference of people on the new ! 
It is also refreshing to be asked how many chil- 
dren are in the family, and how many secret or- 
ders are patronized ! A richer tone of piety 
thrills the heart when the predecessor is con- 
demned in no measured terms, knowing that in a 
few short months a nearer and dearer personage 
will be the subject of similar remarks ! At length 
when all is done, the last nail driven, the last bed- 
stead set up, the last picture hung on the wall, 
every floor carpeted, how sweet the realization of 
an empty purse, the assurance of poor parishion- 
ers, the anxiety of a harassed mind, and the 
knowledge that the companion, or a child, is sick 
from exposure ! Of course such rich experiences 
are not for every itinerant at a single move. 



Moved, by Authority of Law. 



248 



MOVED BY AUTHOEITY OF LAW. 

A profound conviction that the itinerant sys- 
tem is the best plan for carrying into effect the 
great commission of Christ to his Church, is an 
essential qualification for happiness, if not for 
usefulness, in the Methodist minister. "Without 
such conviction the attendant inconveniences, both 
personal and domestic, will be regarded as an in- 
tolerable burden. Looking back over the history 
of the world, the Methodist plan is found to be 
older than Wesley, and not without the best 
foundation in both the examples and precepts of 
Scripture. Paul was an itinerant. In labors more 
abundant, in journeyings often, in weariness and 
painfulness, counting not his life dear unto him- 
self, he prosecuted the work of the ministry 
which he had received of the Lord Jesus. The 
accounts of some of his farewell services in the 
Acts of the Apostles are touching in the highest 
degree. Our Lord himself was an itinerant. He 
went about doing good. Iso settled pastorate 
was his. The twelve apostles, going from city to 
city preaching the gospel of the kingdom, were 
exemplary itinerant ministers. So also were the 
prophets before them. Elisha, Elijah, and Samuel 
moved about from place to place in the holy work 



2-i-i Methodism in the Field. 



to which God had called them. King Jehoshaphat 
was familiar with this agency for the promotion 
of good. In the third year of his reign he ordered 
the priests and Levites to go through his kingdom 
and teach the people the law of the Lord. "The 
whole of this sacred book," says one writer, 
"breathes the spirit of itinerancy; and all the 
transactions recorded in it, in reference to the 
ministry, agree with this spirit." * 

Wesley started with no expressed theory of 
ministerial itinerancy. His plans for the promo- 
tion of a revival throughout the United Kingdom 
rendered it necessary that he should travel from 
town to town. When God raised up helpers 
around him, the system of their united work 
proved the germ of the ultimate Methodist itin- 
erancy, in which Wesley believed as a theory — as 
indeed the apostolic plan of evangelization. He 
expressed the belief that the abilities of an itin- 
erant were made available on a larger scale than 
they could otherwise be, and that a frequent 
change of teachers was the best. Indeed, he 
thought his own preaching for one year to the 
same congregation would put the people "asleep." 

In no country in the world has the itinerant 

* Beauchamp's " Letters on the Call and Qualifications of 
Ministers." 



Germ of the Itinerancy, 



245 



system proved more popular and effective than 
in America. As Stevens says : " Methodism, with 
its lay ministry and itinerancy, conld alone afford 
the ministrations of religion to this overflowing 
population. It was to lay the moral foundations 
of many of the great States of the West. It was to 
become at last the dominant faith of the country, 
with its standard planted every- where." 

It is this recognition of Scripture authority for, 
and abundant effectiveness in, the itinerant min- 
istry, which has given rise to the jealous care with 
which it has been cherished by all Methodist 
bodies, and which has led Methodist ministers 
the world over so cheerfully to acquiesce in the 
decisions of the " powers that be," whether those 
decisions subjected them to exposure on foreign 
shores, sacrifices on the frontiers, or pleasant labor 
in long-established pastoral charges. And though 
some critics have characterized the itinerancy as 
a system of tyranny, and itinerants as hapless 
slaves to the arbitrary behests of men, Methodist 
ministers have felt themselves to be the cheerful 
supporters of a gospel plan, the willing subjects 
of a safe and scriptural law, and the happy bene- 
ficiaries of a provision under which the fathers 
were blessed and the world made better. 

" There are two kinds of loyalty — loyalty to 



246 



Methodism in the Field. 



persons and loyalty to law. So there are two 
kinds of authority, the authority of persons and 
the authority of law. The former is bondage, 
the latter is freedom. In a State, absolute des- 
potism is properly tempered by assassination, if 
the despot will not retire ; in a Church, supreme 
personal authority is not to be thought of. In 
the itinerancy, see the beauty and majesty of im- 
partial law, not merely submitted to, but cheer- 
fully adopted and obeyed by all, for the universal 
good. The whole denomination, for convenience, 
is divided into Conferences of about one hundred 
and twenty societies and preachers each. Trans- 
ferences from one Conference to another are vol- 
untary. As no preacher can remain more than 
three years at any appointment, usually about 
one-fifth — -never quite one third— must be changed. 
This is not decided by the bishop, but by the 
law. That precludes all argumentation. It pre- 
cludes all personal tyranny. It is the system — it 
is not personal caprice— that decides this fact. 
Always a fair proportion of the ablest preachers 
and of the strongest Churches are among those 
that must change. These would not seek a change 
for personal reasons, but yield to the law." * 

*E. 0. Haven, D.D., LL.D., in " Methodist Quarterly Be- 
view " for July, 18T& 



Unnecessary Pastoral Removals. 



247 



Nor is this law more liable to abuse by its ex- 
ecutors than are other authoritative enactments. 
Pastors and charges, related to each other for 
less than the three years' term, would dissolve 
their relation under any system. Bishops and 
presiding elders are supposed to be interested, 
not in occasioning frequent removals, but in the 
perpetuation of every harmonious pastoral rela- 
tion to the full extent of the law. And in cases 
of change at the end of one or two years, it is 
the dignity and worth of the law which provides 
for more congenial assignments. Such a system 
— tending to industry, harmony, and connect ion al 
power — providing for the welfare of all of its sup- 
porters, and they in turn for its perpetuation — 
founded on the word of God and matured under 
the dispensations of Providence — -characterized 
by the grandest success and overcoming the preju- 
dices of opponents — has in it the presage of ulti- 
mate universal adoption. 

UNNECESSAEY PAS TOE AL EEMOVALS. 

Sister Churches are inclined to make prominent 
the advantages of their "settled pastorates;" but 
a showing of facts demonstrates that no average 
pastorate is " settled." Silently pastors come and 
go, leaving the average term only a few years. 



248 



Methodism ra the Field, 



According to a recent statement in a New York 
paper, the average pastorate for the Baptist de- 
noniination throughout the land is less than that 
of the Congregationalists. which is three-cend-one- 
half years. How much more is that f< settled" 
than a Methodist pastorate of three years ? Under 
any system, there is always a sufficient number 
of dissatisfied pastors and parishioners to make 
changes frequent. The causes may be thus classi- 
fied : 1. A natural restlessness and love of change. 
2. Want of tact and tenrper. 3. Deficiency of 
spirituality. 4. Attraction presented : to the 
ministry, by higher salaries and more favorable 
locations ; to the laity, by more available talent. 

Under the Methodist system a change without 
a valid reason is poor policy. Such a pastor is 
absolutely certain to be sent to a field from 
which another is just as anxious to go as he is to 
leave his own. And laymen of such a spirit are 
almost sure to receive an appointee no abler or 
more genial than the brother just ousted. This 
is so from the very nature of things. Xo degree 
of dissatisfaction on either side can increase the 
number of efficient pastors and desirable pastor- 
ates; and these latter stand to each other in the 
relation of cause and effect. It is not easy for 
an inefficient pastor to gain an appointment to a 



Efficient Pastors and Desirable Charges. 249 

well-cultivated and fruitful field ; nor can a charge 
overgrown with the weeds of discord, neglect, and 
illiberality, more easily command the diligent 
laborer. 

Preachers must practically demonstrate their 
efficiency, and charges their desirability, before a 
demand for either is created; and when such re- 
sults are accomplished, both are well satisfied 
with things as they are, the rule of limitation 
alone making a vacancy. 

It would be exceedingly well for many persons 
to study this principle. The Methodist itiner- 
ancy is not a chance institution, and the sooner 
the lesson is learned the better. There are folks 
who seem to regard the " cabinet as a kind of 
dummy circle, where character is not weighed, 
successfulness considered, nor ability and fitness 
regarded. Their fancy picture is, that the bishop 
and presiding elders know nobody, receive no 
news, and divulge no secrets. The appointments 
are, to such, the result, principally, of providence 
(if favorable) and of prejudice (if unfavorable). 
The appointing power, in view of these facts, is 
necessarily a thankless prerogative. There are 
pastors to please and places to fill which are out- 
side of the circle of prosperity, and clamorous to 
set in, 



250 



Methodism in the Field. 



Thoughtless of the Bible rule, that salvation 
from poor circumstances is likewise to be worked 
out with fear and trembling, they ask for official 
grace, and seek a nearness to the charming center 
of the great "iron wheel/' only to gain a landing 
on some other portion of the outer rim. 

It could heartily be wished that such an adjust- 
ment of appointments might always be made as 
would fill with delight every clerical and lay 
brother throughout the Church. It is unpleasant 
to witness pain, especially when well meaning 
people suffer. But wounds will always be in- 
flicted upon some tender minds, and the most that 
can be hoped is, that they will become fewer, 
less deep, and more healable. It might be sug- 
gested to those pastors and parishioners who 
think they can endure each other no longer, to 
begin courting again, sparing themselves the ex- 
pense of divorce, and possibly the mortification of 
a worse union, 

WHAT THE CHUBCH >7EEDS. 

The Christian Church should move forward 
with resistless moral force upon the strongholds of 
sin, conquer her foes, and, by the charity of her 
spirit, the justice of her ways, the righteousness 
of her mission, and the reasonableness of her re- 



What the Church Needs. 



251 



quirements, lead all to the espousal of her own 
cause. 

In her temporal affairs she should be the em- 
bodiment of every moral excellence. She should 
never be found wanting in honesty, candor, cour- 
age, benevolence, justice, and promptitude. With 
every Christlike element of character developed, 
she should stand in the community a stern re- 
buke to all wrong, and a happy presentation and 
commendation to all good. 

A revival of religion, deep and powerful, last- 
ing in its duration, and sweeping in its influence, 
is a requisite of the Church. This would energize 
the efforts, methodize the agencies, harmonize 
the elements, and liberalize the spirit of all her 
people. It would transform weakness into 
strength, sluggishness into activity, indifference 
into interest, carelessness into regard, stinginess 
into benevolence, hatred into love, formality into 
spirituality, discouragement into hope, doubt into 
trust, depression into enthusiasm, darkness into 
light, and death into life. It would settle old 
disputes, liquidate old obligations, rebuild old 
churches, remodel old parsonages, kindle old mel- 
odies, gather the crowds, raise the shouts, make 
the earth tremble, and awaken new notes in the 
harps of heaven, Such a consummation is de= 



252 Methodism in the Field. 



voutly to be wished, and should prompt to the 
earnest prayer, " O Lord, revive thy work." 

But let us reverse the picture. Instead of 
making a revival the condition of happy results, 
let burden-bearing and privilege-improving be 
the conditions of revival. The former theory 
may be the most popular, but the latter is most 
practicable and scriptural. If every Church on 
earth would pay old debts, adjust old quarrels, 
attend all the means of grace, and exhibit com- 
plete consecration to the work of God, there 
would follow a revival which would not only 
take earth to heaven, but bring heaven to earth ; 
which would continue not only for a season, but 
through all time, embracing every kindred, and 
tongue, and people, and nation. 

For such a movement ministers must labor, 
placing responsibility where it belongs. The 
sooner every man, woman, and child realizes that 
the burdens of the Church are upon them as in- 
dividuals, the sooner they will be lifted. Practi- 
cal sermons upon these topics must be forcibly 
preached. They may not give the ministry rep- 
utation for scientific or philosophic lore, but they 
will lead to the accomplishment of God's work, 
and who should care for more ? 

The official members should co-operate with 



Hevival Needful. 



253 



pastors to carry out these suggestions. They 
should practically inspire the congregation with 
the idea that every load must be carried, and that 
they who bear the heaviest proportionate burden 
will share the highest felicity. Nothing so shuts a 
man within himself, excludes the love and respect 
of his fellows, sours the spirit, and leads to moral 
decay, as to pull back while others push forward, 
and then, perhaps, grumble at seeing the car 
move on. 

Churches generally need a better financial sys- 
tem, or rather a more faithful operation of those 
already provided. Work and no system is better 
than system and no work. It is of less conse- 
quence how a thing is done than whether it is 
done at all. It is just as easy, however, to ac- 
complish results systematically, as in a hap-hazard 
way, and permanency is more likely to follow. 

The financial system of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church is perhaps as good as any for general ap- 
plication. Let it be practically introduced, and 
finances will not lag. To secure its thorough 
working every officer in the Church, from bishop 
to usher, should lay it near his heart. It should 
be kept constantly before the Church. The ser- 
mon should embody it, the exhortation apply it, 
the prayer enforce it, the testimony popularize it, 



254 Methodism in the Field. 



the conversation familiarize it, and the act con- 
tain it, until ic has become habitual, universal, and 
eternal. 

THE CEITICAL HOUK. 

A wide awake, deeply spiritual, and thoroughly 
consistent religious life is the need of the times. 
The wrecking of character on the rocks of intem- 
perance and impurity tends to produce general 
distrust in all Christian profession. There are 
people who seem to charge themselves with no 
other responsibility than to give the widest pub- 
licity and greatest possible influence to every case 
of moral laxity. To counteract the results of 
their nefarious business the hour demands not 
only solid character in ministers and laymen, 
but unyielding and undying perseverance on the 
part of all Christians in scattering abroad relig- 
ious information, and in sowing the seeds of moral 
influence, to germinate at the time of the coming 
reaction in a mighty and maturing harvest of 
righteousness. 

The value of the Christian religion, as a soul 
refiner and purifier, as well as a public civilizer, 
will ere long be fully appreciated. Men of wealth 
and station, legislators and executive officers, will 
recognize in it the grand elements of progress, 
safety, and perpetuity in social, commercial, and 



False Professors of Religion, 255 

political affairs, and will bend their energies to 
promote its highest development. Then the 
skeptic and stoic will be thrown into the shade of 
public disapprobation ; the vilifier of character 
will be confined in the cell of conscious shame, 
and the wolf in sheep's clothing will be led quietly 
from the fold stripped of his garb, and compelled 
to establish a blameless character ere he shall re- 
turn to the unsuspecting flock. 

There have always been in the Church some 
false professors. This is not said to atone for 
their existence now, but simply to suggest that 
religion has prospered, and will continue to pros- 
per, despite such obstacles. Of the original 
twelve apostles, chosen by the infinitely wise and 
holy Lord, one was a traitor. For paltry gain or 
a moment's indulgence there are those weak 
enough to jeopardize all their earthly interests and 
ruin their souls. Judas was a representative char- 
acter, as the subject of Christ's solemn declaration 
supposes : " It had been good for that man if he 
had not been born." 

In consideration of the material which God has 
out of which to construct fair and permanent 
moral edifices, the wonder is, not that a few go 
shamefully down, but that so many stand firm, 
grandly defying the storm. If men possessed 



256 Methodism in the Field. 



naught but straw or clay with which to erect their 
capitals, palaces, and memorial halls, few would 
be the proud cities, stately mansions, or enduring 
monuments. But God has little else than stub- 
born wills, perverse judgments, and evil hearts of 
unbelief with which to form and fashion the 
moral temples in which he deigns to dwell. But 
the grace which saves is a wondrous power ! It 
molds the rebellious soul into a gigantic defender 
of the faith. It seizes the acquisitive mind and 
constructs it into a garner for precious stores. 
Out of the inquisitive disposition it makes a 
searcher for redemption's hidden treasures. And 
the communicative spirit it transforms into the 
applauded promulgator of gospel truths. Thus 
every personal organization, rightly turned, has a 
place. The trouble with the world at this period 
of its history is, that ingenuity, success, boldness, 
pojDularity, and gain, are apparently more courted 
than piety and true worth. Society will " right 
up " after awhile. God reigns. Jesus is en- 
throned as the world's Mediator. The Holy Spirit 
is in the world, convincing it of sin, righteousness, 
and a judgment to come. It is a matter of com- 
mon observation and remark, during successful 
revivals, that when sinners are powerfully convict- 
ed they do their " level best " in showing up their 



The Outlook. 



257 



bad natures. That is the season for quiet confi- 
dence and decisive action on the part of the 
Church. 

" Sing, pray, and' swerve not from his ways, 

But do thine own part faithfully; 
Trust his rich promises of grace, 

So shall they be fulfilled in thee ; 
G-od never yet forsook at need 
The soul that trusted him indeed." * 

THE OUTLOOK. 

The universal extension of Christ's kingdom is 
predicted in prophecy. " He shall have dominion 
also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the 
ends of the earth." Psa. lxxii, 8. "For the earth 
shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of 
the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Hab. ii, 14. 
" All nations whom thou hast made shall come and 
worship before thee, O Lord ; and shall glorify thy 
name." Psa. lxxxvi, 9. "And they shall not teach 
every man his neighbor, and every man his broth- 
er, saying, Know the Lord : for all shall know me, 
from the least to the greatest." Heb. viii, 11. 

The fulfillment of prophecy has gone ahead of 
human expectation. Men have had faith, but how 
frequently a faith that wavered ! Peter's success 
in preaching his first gospel sermon, resulting in 
* From the German of Neumarck. 

17 



258 Methodism in the Field. 



the conversion of a few thousand souls, filled the 
people with. fear. Paul's successes were no less 
marvelous. Even in this age a great revival of 
religion excites general comment, as though some 
strange and unlooked-for thing had happened to 
the world. 

It is a well-known fact that Christianity has 
ever struggled, not ouly against unbelief, but 
against the most stubborn opposition. Ten times 
has this opposition taken the form of fierce and 
bloody persecution. The wealth, and power, and 
law, and social prejudices of the world, have been 
pitted against the religion of Jesus. Heathen na- 
tions have kept their gates closed against mission- 
aries. Until a recent date, the great trouble 
has been to find avenues of access to pagan poj> 
ulations. 

Within a century a great change has come over 
the world. The cry has come up from every land, 
" Come and help us ! " The gates of earthly 
kingdoms have been thrown wide open. Preju- 
dice against the Gospel and against foreigners 
has declined. Legal obstructions to their ap- 
proach have been removed, and legal protection 
almost universally guaranteed. The power of the 
Gospel to save the heathen has been practically 
demonstrated on almost every shore, so that 



Change within a Century. 259 

Christianity lias an influence not hitherto pos- 
sessed. Heathens can sing now : — 

"What we have felt and seen, 

With confidence we tell; 
And publish, to the sons of men, 

The signs infallible." 

Heathen countries have also been brought more 
fully under the political, commercial, and indus- 
trial influences of Christian nations, giving to 
Christianity greater advantages. While the nom- 
inal Christians of earth do not exceed four hun- 
dred millions, the population under Christian rule 
amounts to nearly seven hundred millions, or 
more than one half of the entire population of the 
globe. Christianity is rapidly undermining the 
systems of heathenism. There is much lack of 
devotion to the gods, as once expressed in the 
erection of costly edifices. A new heathen temple 
is not to be found. 

There is a great change throughout the world 
in social customs and practices, TThen Jesus 
was upon the earth human sacrifices were of- 
fered: parents put their own children to death: 
old people were killed to get them out of the 
way: men fought as gladiators, and killed each 
other for the entertainment of the public: brutal- 
ity characterized all acts, and lust controlled the 



260 Methodism in the Field. 

strongest of men. Not so now. In Christian 
lands scenes of brutality and shame are not only 
publicly condemned, but legally punished. Crime 
and wickedness still abound, but they are under 
the curse of the law, and are the exception, not 
the rule. The cross has enkindled in human 
hearts the flame of affection, and made sacred do- 
mestic ties. As parents have looked upon Jesus 
blessing little children, the love which was made 
dormant by superstition and error has revived, 
and children now are the light of the Christian 
home. So children have looked upon Him as, in 
the agony of death, he exclaimed, " Son, behold 
thy mother," and a new affection has sprung up, 
and parents now are cared for until, amid the 
hallowed surroundings of old age, "the weary 
wheels of life stand still." The whole world has 
comprehended the idea of a sufficient Sacrifice, 
and human beings are no longer offered up. So 
in the light of eternity the value of souls has ap- 
peared, and the expression has taken the form of 
law, " men shall die no more for the amusement 
of the populace." Religion has changed the 
spirit of the beast from lust to love, from cruelty 
to kindness. Orphanages, homes for the aged, 
asylums for the unfortunate, refuges for the 
poor, institutions of every form and name for the 



Only a Few Engaged in the Work. 261 

relief of the suffering of earth, all bespeak the 
marvelous transition. Go to some lone South Sea 
island to-day, and Christian hands will minister 
to your wants, where, a few decades ago, cannibal 
hands would have been stained with your blood. 
On hundreds of coasts where, with no light to 
guide them mariners were once wrecked and 
eaten up, there blaze in the natural darkness now 
the beacon lights of civilization, to warn the voy- 
agers of danger and guide them safely home. 

This state of things is the more wonderful 
in view of the fact that only a small number of 
people have been heartily engaged in the work. 
Many of those professing the Christian name in 
time past have proved the darkness, rather than 
the light, of the world. With the death of the 
apostles and their immediate successors began a 
decline in the simplicity and purity of Gospel 
ministrations. The cardinal doctrines of Chris- 
tianity were less faithfully preached. They were 
mystified by learned men for selfish ends. Super- 
stition ere long became the parent of devotion. 
Love passed into the shadow of fear. Experience 
was lost in the dull routine of obedience. Affec- 
tion was crushed out by penance. Hope disaj>- 
peared amid the shades of despair, and the world 
was wrapped in the deep night of the dark ages. 



262 



Methodism in the Field. 



As Christ on the cross was partially lost to human 
sight amid the darkness which hung over the earth 
from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, so in this 
moral night he passed from the faith of men, who 
looked to saints for mercy, and rushed to priests 
for absolution. Nor did spiritual light dawn 
again until Luther and the Reformers lifted the 
clouds which for ages had intercepted the rays of 
the Sun of righteousness in their progress to the 
human heart; nor did full gospel day appear un- 
til the evangelists of the eighteenth century tore 
away the last vestige of superstition, bringing 
Christ directly before the mind as the only source 
of pardon. 

The new interest in human weal, the humane 
precepts and principles of our times, together with 
the new activities and zeal of Christians, are all 
the result of modern evangelism. The world's 
attention is directed toward the Christian faith. 
The learned are writing about Christ, the igno- 
rant are wondering at him, the impure are hiding 
from his presence, and the skeptical are astounded 
before the march of his truth. Ungodly men 
seek to fortify themselves against him, but he 
calmly takes possession of the heart, and we see 
them clothed and in their right mind, sitting 
humbly at his feet. Old men, like Simeon, are 



Sjnrit of the Church. 



263 



satisfied when they see him, and turn, saying, 
"Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in 
peace . . . for mine eyes have seen thy salvation." 
Young men turn from the paths of pleasure, fame, 
and wealth, and, bowing at the altar of consecra- 
tion, give their lives to his service, saying with 
one of old, "If I had a thousand lives they should 
all be spent in the service of Christ." Women, 
too, the fairest and most gifted, bid adieu to the 
tender associations of life, to devote their strength 
to the work of rescuing their less favored sisters 
in foreign lands. Even children lisp his praise, 
with real interest study the lessons of his life, 
and then go out to solicit funds to support 
those who have gone to preach him to a lost 
race. Human life is permeated with a warm re- 
ligious spirit. The Church is the strongest insti- 
tution in the world. Great revivals spring up in 
all its branches, and every denomination has come 
to realize more fully than ever before, that the 
great end of religious effort is to "add to the 
Church daily such as should be saved." 

Here and there may be exceptions. Brutes 
still breathe, bearing the form and name of man. 
Infidels yet gain notoriety by befouling their own 
mouths with unmerited epithets against the book 
of God. There are some Churches still compara- 



264: Methodism ix the Field. 



tively sleeping. But all these have not the sym- 
pathy of the best society. They are the lingering 
relics of the dead past, and soon will be buried 
out of sight. The little leaven is leavening the 
whole lump. The advancement may seem slow, 
and may often prompt to the cry, "How long, 
O Lord, how long shall the wicked triumph ? " 
but when the accumulating forces of the Church 
have all matured, one year may result in more 
than a former century. The preparation to ex- 
plode and sink the rocks in the dangerous passage 
to New York harbor was the work of years, but 
when the channels were all dug, and the explosive 
elements placed in their chambers, a little child 
touched the electric handles, and Hell-gate rocks 
were no more. So when God's work of prepara- 
tion in the gigantic undertaking of leveling the 
strongholds of sin is all complete, the lines of 
communication around the world may flash the 
news to startled humanity that nations are born 
in a day. 

Never was there an age when so much religious 
intelligence was made a matter of public interest. 
Never did famous men express themselves more 
confidently regarding the Christian faith as a 
vitalizing and purifying power. Never were 
there such boundless facilities for reaching the 



Obligations to the Church, 



265 



masses with the force of truth, and never were 
those facilities more completely controlled. Even 
the secular press, which is such an arm of power 
among the nations, is characterized by frequent 
and hearty concessions to religion. " Xo candid 
observer/' says the " Springfield Republican/' 
<; will deny that whatever of good there mav be 
in our American civilization is the product of Chris- 
tianity. Still less can he deny that the grand 
motives which are working for the elevation and 
purification of our society, are strictly Christian. 
The immense energies of the Christian Church, 
stimulated by a love which shrinks from no ob- 
stacle, are all bent toward this great aim of 
universal purification. These millions of ser- 
mons and exhortations, which are a constant power 
for good — these countless prayers and songs of 
praise on which the heavy-laden lift their hearts 
above the temptations and sorrows of the world — 
are all the product of faith in Jesus Christ. That 
which gives us protection by day and by night — 
the dwellings we live in, the clothes we wear, the 
institutions of social order — all these are the di- 
rect offspring of Christianity. All that distin- 
guishes us from the pagan world, all that makes 
us what we are, and all that stimulates us in the 
task of making ourselves better than we are, is 



266 Methodism in the Field. 



Christian. A belief in Jesus is the very fount- 
ain-head of every thing that is desirable and 
praiseworthy in our civilization, and this civiliza- 
tion is the flower of time. Humanity has reached 
its noblest thrift, its grandest altitudes of excel- 
lence, its high-water mark, through the influence 
of this faith." 

And yet there are madmen who would break 
down the Church, and tear the last vestige of 
Christianity from our institutions. As if uncon- 
scious of the suicidal act, they strike at the 
Bible, at the ministry, at the Christian name. 
They talk of freedom as against religion, forget- 
ting that " he is the freeman whom the truth 
makes free, and all are slaves besides." They en- 
joy the society of their clean, pure, enlightened 
and loving Christian wives, and then storm away 
at the very element winch makes their compan- 
ions distinguishable from the dirty women of the 
Hottentots. They boast of the greatness of our 
country, of the privileges and blessings of its in- 
habitants, and then lift high hands against the 
power which gave us our exaltation ! 

So, too, there are conceited and sensual men 
who say, that Christianity, which is the work of 
God, is a " failure ! " With no religious experi- 
ence themselves, and destitute of all literature 



Christianity Not a Failure. 267 



which heralds the triumphs of religion around 
them, they resolve in their little souls that there 
is no more of goodness or progress than what 
comes under their own limited observation. For 
such there cannot be written more comprehen- 
sive utterances than the following of Bishop 
Thomson's : — 

"While Christianity is speaking in languages 
more numerous, by tongues more eloquent, in na- 
tions more populous, than ever before; marshaling 
better troops in richer harmony ; shrinking from 
no foe; but rising triumphant from every con- 
flict ; shaking down the towers of all philosophies 
that exalt themselves against God, making the 
steam-press rush under the demand for her Script- 
ures, and the steam-horse groan under the weight 
of her charities ; emancipating the enslaved, civ- 
ilizing the lawless, refining literature, inspiring 
poetry, sending forth art and science, no longer 
clad in soft raiment to linger in king's palaces, 
but as the hardy prophets of God to make earth 
bud and blossom as the rose ; giving God-like 
energy to the civilization which bears its name ; 
elevating savage islands into civilized states ; lead- 
ing forth Christian martyrs from the mountains 
of Madagascar ; turning the clubs of cannibals 
into the railings of the altars before which Fiji 



268 Methodism m the Field. 



savages call upon Jesus ; repeating the Pentecost, 
"by many an ancient river and many a palmy 
plain ; " thundering at the seats of ancient pagan- 
ism ; sailing all waters, cabling all oceans, scal- 
ing all mountains in the march of its might, and 
ever enlarging the diameter of those circles of 
light which it has kindled on earth, and which 
will soon meet in a universal illumination — you 
call it a failure ! A little more of such failure, 
and we shall have all over the globe the 'new 
heaven and new earth ' wherein dwelleth right- 
eousness." 

Engaged in this work of the world's subjuga- 
tion to Christ are various religious denominations. 
With a greater variety of methods and unanim- 
ity of aim than ever before, they fight in the 
same field against a common enemy. Ignoring or 
undervaluing the services of no division of this 
grand Christian army, let the Methodist wing of 
it be chosen for a single comjDutation. Xear 
the close of 1739 John Wesley organized the 
first Methodist class, composed of ten or twelve 
members. In 1875 the number of Methodists in 
the world was estimated to be at least 4,000,000. 
These figures furnish a basis upon which very 
flattering computations may be made of the prob- 
able number of Methodists in the world a century 



After the Conflict. 



269 



or two hence. " Wherefore lift up the hands that 
hang down, and confirm the feeble knees." 

" E'en now. perchance, wide waving o'er the land, 
That mighty angel lifts his golden wand, 
Courts the bright vision of descending power, 
Tells every gate, and measures every tower, 
And chides the tardy seals that yet detain 
Thy Lion, Judah, from his destined reign." 

Bishop Heber. 

AFTER THE CONFLICT. 
The cannons boom no more ; the rattle of mus- 
ketry is no longer heard ; the cry of " Forward, 
men ! " greets not the ear ; the cheers of the 
chargers have expired upon the dead winds ; and 
the drums beat the muster only to ascertain who 
are among the missing and the slain. As the roll 
is called, many names bring back no response. 
The brave warriors who bore them sleep on the 
field of struggle, wrapped in mantles of their 
own blood. To other names responses come, 
but only in the way of information: "In the 
hospital, shattered;" "in camp, disabled;" or, 
" among the convalescents ;" are some of the 
replications. 

In the great moral strife there are hard-fought 
battles. Pastors and people struggle together in 
the successive engagements. Some, with their 



270 Methodism in the Field. 

full armor on, fall "with their feet to the foe." 
Others are disabled and are compelled to spend 
their lives in retirement. Some wear out in the 
service, and great age alone compels them to de- 
sist from activity. To them, the excitements of 
the conflict are things of the past ; the trumpet 
no more summons to arms ; and often, hushed is 
the music of the sanctuary. If ministers, they 
sometimes wend their way to the annual muster, 
and, as the roll is called, they proudly but trem- 
blingly answer, " Here ! " There is something 
very impressive and suggestive in the presence of 
the old heroes. As we look upon them in the 
Conference or congregation, we think of how they 
wrought, and under what circumstances of hard- 
ship they labored. " The green earth was their 
carpet ; the clouds of heaven their curtains ; the 
hill-top served them at once for a pulpit and a 
pillow ; the dews moistened their morning and 
evening sacrifices ; and the rude storm, at times, 
received upon its bosom the impress of their 
fervor." * 

In most lives there are not more than twenty- 
five or thirty years for hard, unceasing toil. When 
a man has reached the age of thirty he is counted 
ready for responsibilities. At fifty-five or sixty, 

* Bp. Thomson, :< Biographical and Incidental Sketches," p. 249. 



" Old Soldiers. 



271 



as a rule, he begins to decline. Confucius de- 
clared his powers to be most perfect in age, and 
there are a few, like "Wesley, who stand at the 
termination of allotted life, with " eye not dimmed 
nor natural force abated." Such are the excep- 
tions. " The dead line of fifty," has well known 
application. Aged ministers are compelled to 
give place to those who are young. These occupy 
for a season, and then, in their turn, join the com- 
pany of the "fathers." 

Old soldiers like to fight their battles over 
again. They love to tell the story of the long 
march, the fierce encounter, the method of victory. 
It is a beautiful custom of the Church which calls 
for the semi-centennial and other memorial ser- 
mons, and designates the battle-scarred veterans 
to preach them. 

Persons retired from active life may walk in 

the sunshine still. Sometimes poverty or disease 

renders the bodily existence pitiable, but the soul 

may rise above the hardest lot. Those who have 

worked diligently and faithfully for God, who 

stood up against wickedness and worldliness, 

' ; Who wrestled hard, as we do now, 
With sins, and doubts, and fears," 

counting not their lives or fortunes dear unto 

themselves that they might win Christ, have cer- 



272 Methodism in the Field. 



tainly a cheering record for waning years. But 
it is not well always to dwell upon the past. It is 
said that sailors on a voyage will touch their cups 
to " Friends astern ! " till they are half-way over ; 
then, to " Friends ahead ! " Every aged itinerant 
has enjoyed the acquaintance and association of 
many different people. He can count his fields of 
labor by tens, and his old parishioners by hun- 
dreds. Perhaps half of the latter were brought 
into the Church through his agency. They are 
not all on earth. While, therefore, he may re- 
member that he served his generation unto good 
account, he may also contemplate the results of 
that service in the life beyond. Paul did some 
such thing, for he wrote, " Forgetting those things 
which are behind, and reaching forth unto those 
things which are before, I press toward the mark 
for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ 
Jesus." 

But let all who are engaged against sin be care- 
ful not to retire from the field until their work is 
done. Camp life is the curse of an army. Its in- 
activity begets discontent, dissipation, insubordi- 
nation, and sometimes mutiny. "Speak to the 
children of Israel that they go forward." ISTo 
halting ; no stragglers, no loungers in the camp. 
If a soldier cannot fight in the van, let him toil in 



Transferred. 



273 



the rear. Never let " after the conflict " mean any 
thing but a fully completed life-work, 

TKANSFEKKED. 

" One army of the living G-od, 

To his command we bow ; 
Part of his host have crossed the flood, 

And part are crossing now." 

It is computed* that up to the close of 1877 5 
3,092 ministers, and 605,504 lay members, of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church had been transferred 
to the army of heaven. " Therefore are they be- 
fore the throne of God, and serve him day and 
night in his temple." During the year 1878 the 
names of 111 pastors and 19,146 members were 
added to the death-roll. This was at the rate of 
more than two ministers and three hundred and 
sixty-eight members per week, or fifty-three a 
day. On the average, the heart of some Episcopal 
Methodist ceases to beat every half-hour, and 
happy home circles are so rapidly converted into 
companies of mourners. 

But, as Wesley used to say, ct Our people die 
well/" and the saying applies equally to the minis- 
ters. Death-bed utterances have all the legal 

* W. II. De Puy, D.D., in "Methodist Quarterly Review," 
April, 1878. 
18 



274 Methodism in the Field. 



force of sworn testimony. Facing the last foe, 
looking out into the great unknown, and conscious 
of God's immediate presence, the last words are 
always treasured legacies. The world will never 
forget the dying exclamations of some of her 
heroes, and those of her humblest sons are fondly 
cherished by the near survivors. No wonder, then, 
that Christians are interested in what fellow-be- 
lievers say in that awful hour which comes once, 
and only once, to all. 

How often have pastors and people stood to- 
gether in those chambers where the good have 
met their fate, 

" Quite on the verge of heaven." 

How often have they soothed the suffering with 
prayer and song, and been blessed in return by 
expressions of submission and exultations of praise! 
They can declare how the most affectionate rela- 
tives have been enabled to part in death, "not 
without emotion, but without repining, and with 
a calm surrender of all they held most dear to the 
disposal of their heavenly Father." They can af- 
firm how the fading eyes have brightened at the 
realization of the Master's promise, a Lo, I am 
with you alway." 

" The best of all is, God is with us ! " repeated 



D y in g Test im onies. 



275 



John Wesley, again and again, when life was ebb- 
ing away, 

" could I catch one smile from thee, 
And drop into eternity," 

was the last utterance in verse of his brother 
Charles, and dictated when, in great suffering, 
heart and flesh were failing* The spiritual sons 
and daughters of the Wesley s, when about to 
" drop into eternity," have felt that God was with 
them, and rested in his "smile." Some, like 
Whitefleld, have died silent, but none have died 
sad. "The future looks bright," said the dying 
Bishop Morris, who for so many years had been 
the senior officer of the episcopal cabinet, and who 
had during his life assigned 30,000 ministers to 
their fields of labor. Bishop Clark was the author 
of the book called " Death-Bed Scenes," but no 
scene therein depicted was more glorious than 
that of his own transference. In the thick dark- 
ness of the valley mortal sight and hearing were 
lost, but there were " angels hovering round," and 
the glad notes of heaven's harmony were borne to 
his soul. " The song of the angels is a glorious 
song ; it thrills my ears even now ! " he exclaimed. 
Nor did he grow weary of the unseen ministries. 
"Tireless company, tireless song!" he uttered dis- 



276 Methodism in the Field. 

tinctly, ere the convoy bore him hence. " God is 
letting me down easily," said Dr. Thomas Sewell, 
as the last sinking sensations stole over him. " I 
leave the issne entirely with the Lord," submis- 
sively replied Dr. B. H. ISTadal, when assured that 
alarming symptoms were developing. " Farewell, 
halleluia, all is well ! " triumphantly testified Dr. 
B. G. Paddock, when death was confirming to 
him the reality of spirit life. " It has lighted my 
pathway to heaven," testified Dr. Nathan Bangs, 
concerning the immortal splendor which, amid 
mortal dissolution, had shone around him. "Be 
ye strong in the faith ; my work is done," was the 
counsel to his family and friends of Ling Ching 
Ting, a Chinese convert and minister who died at 
his post laboring for the redemption of China. 
" I am sweeping through the gates, washed in the 
blood of the Lamb ! " shouted back Alfred Cook- 
man when he passed the pearly portals. " My 
goodness counts for nothing now ; my trust is 
only in the Mediator," was the expressed confi- 
dence of Dr. Henry Slicer amid the swelling bil- 
lows of death's dark sea. "Beautiful, beautiful, 
O how beautiful ! " exclaimed Rev. Joseph Jen- 
nings, awaking one morning during his last sick- 
ness. " Shall I open the shutters, Joseph, and 
let you look upon the beauties of nature?" in- 



The Scene Closes. 



277 



quired his devoted wife. " O, I have looked a great 
way beyond the shutters ! " said the dying man. 
"We must take the world for Christ. Say so to 
our people. God calls us. Louder than thunder 
on the dome of the sky the Lord strikes the hour. 
We must throw down our gold in the presence of 
God. We must, we can, we will, by God's grace, 
conquer ! Forward, is the word; no falling back. 
Sing and pray. Eternity dawns ! " rolled from 
the tremulous lips of Dr. T. M. Eddy, the mis- 
sionary work clinging to his heart amid the visions 
of the dying hour. " Good-night," said Dr. G. B. 
Jocelyn, as with his family around him he calmly 
stepped down the " margin of the clouded stream," 
and passed from view. " I am not disappointed," 
testified the apostolic Janes as from the highest 
office in the Church militant he entered upon the 
glories of the Church triumphant. "All right," 
was the characteristic utterance of the statesman- 
like Ames, when to the vision of his faith he was 
assigned his throne and crown in heaven. 

"And what shall I more say? for the time 
would fail me to tell " of each glad exit from the 
scene of earthly toil. Through the faith that 
works, the Christian subdues kingdoms, obtains 
promises, out of weakness is made strong, waxes 
valiant in fight, turns to flight the armies of the 



278 



Methodism m the Field. 



aliens, conquers his own spirit, and, confronting 
the king of terrors, pays him tribute with his 
own body, and goes up to join the white-robed 
hosts. 

" How beautiful it is for man to die 
Upon the walls of Zion ! to be called 
Like a watch- worn and weary sentinel, 
To put his armor off, and rest in heaven." 



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